Organizers of the Boels Ladies Tour have cancelled an event scheduled for September 1-6 in the Netherlands as part of a revised Women's World Tour calendar.

On Monday, Courage Events said on the race's website that the local municipality had announced that it would not grant a permit for the six-day event due to concerns about a surge in COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Europe.

"The main obstacle to hosting a sporting event like the Balls Ladies Tour is the emergency rule that the organization is responsible for the entire region where the event is held. For us, that is an entire course that spans several days. The law is clear and as a result many municipalities have announced that they will not grant permits based on this rule," said Thijs Rondhuis of Courage Events.

In May, the UCI announced a revised calendar for the Women's World Tour, which had been suspended for the season due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. The Boels Ladies Tour, originally scheduled for August, was moved to the first week of September. However, Rondhau noted at the time that the event could only be held if public health measures were relaxed and the event could be held safely.

He also noted that the event would only continue under a socially responsible scenario, noting that the government and the regional council are working on protocols. He stated that he would not run the event unless it was feasible to comply with the protocol in all cases.

The women's peloton season will officially restart with three one-day races in the Basque Country on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, with the first women's World Tour race in Strade Bianche on August 1. However, since public health restrictions began to ease, there have been areas across Europe where the number of people infected with COVID-19 coronavirus has skyrocketed.

Romania, where the Sibiu Cycling Tour was held over the weekend, and Bulgaria have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has designated Romania as an "orange zone" and advises "necessary travel only."

"There has been a recent resurgence of the virus in various parts of Europe," Rondhuis said, in consultation with municipalities, sponsors, teams, players, and unions, as another main concern in cancelling the Boels Ladies Tour. [The Dutch figures are also on a negative line. This will add to the uncertainty and considerably increase the financial risks over the next four weeks. Ultimately, the measures to be taken will weigh heavily on the visibility of our competition. There are not enough arguments to speak of our Boels Ladies Tour when we have to keep spectators away and cancel many of the scheduled side events."

The revised Women's World Tour was originally scheduled to retain 18 of the 22 events and run from August 1 through November 8. However, since that announcement, several events have been cancelled, including the Postnord UCI WWT Volgorda West Sweden TTT and road race, which were scheduled to take place on August 8 and 9, and the Ladies Tour of Norway, which was to take place August 13-16. The cancellation of the Boels Ladies Tour brought the total number of events on the Women's World Tour to 14.