The men's and women's 2021 Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Races have been cancelled due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, which made it difficult for teams to travel to Australia for the January races.

The women's race was scheduled to start on January 14, and the men's World Tour round 23 on January 19. The women's Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race was scheduled for January 30, and the men's race the following day. Most riders would compete in both races in one trip to Australia; the Jayco Herald Sun Tour stage race, scheduled for early February, had already been canceled in August.

Australia has succeeded in reducing the number of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, thanks to a series of regulations, and had hoped that civilian life would open up in the southern hemisphere summer.

However, the need to quarantine travelers arriving in Australia caused many of the leading teams to abandon their trips to Australia.

"The Santos Tour Down Under is a much-loved event on the world cycling and Australian sporting calendar, and we know how important this event is to the people of South Australia," said Event South said Hitaf Rasheed, Executive Director of Event South Australia. Unfortunately, in the end, overcoming the international component with over 400 international teams proved to be the most challenging"

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"We worked with stakeholders, SA Health and SA Police to develop a successful strategy to bring the international event to South Australia. However, the complexities and risks associated with quarantine and international border closures ultimately proved too much for some teams, and the later-than-normal dates made the 2020 season stressful, difficult, and compressed."

The Tour Down Under, which was scheduled to run from January 14 through January 24, will be replaced by a national cycling extravaganza, details of which have not yet been announced.

"We are excited about the opportunity to offer a domestic cycling festival. An incredible amount of work has already been done with key stakeholders and we are looking forward to finalizing its details and sharing them with you later this month," Rashid said.

According to Cyclingnews, the AIGCP Team Association surveyed teams on their willingness to travel to Australia and accept a 14-day quarantine, but most teams said they did not want to travel. They would also likely have to undergo quarantine on their return to Europe, another obstacle for the participating teams.

With the COVID-19 epidemic still ongoing, teams are likely to concentrate on their race programs in Europe, especially early in the season.

Organizers of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race stated that their race was also cancelled because the WorldTour teams chose to stay in Europe due to the pandemic; planning for the 2022 event has already begun, they added.

"We are aware that riders and spectators share our disappointment that our race will not be on the international cycling calendar this summer, but we look forward to bringing back this iconic event in 2022," said Victoria Tourism (VISIT) CEO Brendan McClements said.

"It is disappointing that the UCI World Tour One-Day Race will not open in January. However, this decision was made with the health and safety of our riders, event partners, spectators, employees, volunteers, and the wider community at heart," Cadel Evans added.