Chris Froome, Joao Almeida, Peter Sagan, and Elia Viviani will learn Monday whether they will start the 2021 season at the Vuelta a San Juan.

Froome, Almeida, Sagan, and Viviani were announced as the race's stars two weeks ago, with Froome making his long-awaited debut in South America from the start-up nation of Israel.

The race bubble and inspection protocols have been planned, the route has been adjusted to minimize the risks of COVID-19, and five of the seven stages will start and finish in Outdromo El Bilikoum.

However, as the number of COVID-19 cases in Argentina continues to rise, the Argentine government is expected to announce new health restrictions in the New Year, particularly those from Europe, where the number of COVID-19 cases remains high. COVID-19 cases are still high.

According to Cycling News, a final decision on the race and teams will be made on Monday.

Deceuninck-QuickStep has already decided that 2020 winner Remco Evenepeol will start the 2021 season elsewhere, and Deceuninck-QuickStep team manager Patrick Lefevere is pessimistic about the Vuelta a San Juan.

"For us, it is clear that the race will not take place," he told L'Equipe, describing the increasing number of cancelled races as "serious."

With the Tour Down Under being replaced by the Festival of Cycling, which will only host a national-level four-day stage race, and the cancellation of other Australian races, the Tour of Colombia, and the Tour of Antalya in Turkey, the men's World Tour teams are redesigning their early season race calendars to try to keep their riders racing and happy.

Most of the teams are now expected to head to Europe for warm-weather training camps, with Ineos Grenadiers gathering in Gran Canaria on January 3, while others will head to mainland Spain and UAE Team Emirates to Abu Dhabi. [Challenge Mallorca (January 28-31), Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (February 3-7), Etoile de Besseges in France (February 3-7), Volta ao Algarve in Portugal (February 17-21), Vuelta A Andalucía Ruta Ciclista del Sol (Feb. 17-21), and other early-season European races where teams will compete for positions.

The 2021 World Tour will begin with the UAE Tour (February 21-27) and the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday, February 27. The Tour of Rwanda (Feb. 21-28) is also scheduled, with the Israeli Startup Nation and Total Direct Energies announced.

The Tour of Saudi Arabia (February 2-6) and Tour of Oman (February 9-14) remain on the UCI calendar, but are listed as TBC (TBD) as race organizer ASO has yet to announce route and team information for both races.