The cancellation of the August 18 men's World Tour race, the "RideLondon Surrey Classic," has left a hole in the men's World Tour calendar.

The UCI confirmed the revised race calendar on Tuesday, but on Wednesday announced that organizers had canceled all events of the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival.

Race organizers wrangled over the best dates for the revised race calendar, but the UCI eventually produced a World Tour calendar that begins with Strade Bianche on August 1, provided the COVID-19 epidemic is contained and local authorities allow the race to be held. The Tour de France is scheduled for August 29-September 20, and the Giro d'Italia for October 3-25. The 18-stage Vuelta a España will run from October 20 to November 8, while the Cobblestone Classic and Ardennes Classic will also be held in October.

Further changes to a different race calendar are expected, especially if the Road World Championships are no longer held in Switzerland between September 20 and 27. Milan-San Remo (currently scheduled for August 8), Il Lombardia (scheduled for October 31), and Paris-Roubaix (scheduled for October 25) could be moved to the RideLondon-Sully Classic on August 16.

A decision on moving the Road World Championships could be made in mid-June, when the UCI will also consider changes to the men's and women's World Tour calendars.

"Depending on this development, if necessary, the UCI will make the necessary adjustments to the 2020 UCI WorldTour and UCI Women's WorldTour calendars at the next Professional Cycling Council and UCI Management Committee meetings on June 9 and 10, respectively." The UCI stated.

Cycling is booming in the United Kingdom, especially in London, due to the need for safe public transportation to limit the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. However, the Prudential RideLondon cycling festival has been cancelled for safety reasons; nearly 35,000 people have died from the COVID-19 coronavirus, making the United Kingdom the country with the highest death toll in Europe.

"We hope that millions of Londoners will change their travel habits this summer by cycling instead of driving or using public transport. However, it was absolutely the right decision to cancel this year's event to ensure the safety of everyone involved, and we look forward to RideLondon returning in the near future," said Will Norman of the London Walking and Cycling Committee.

2020 is the final year of Prudential's endowed sponsorship, and event director Hugh Brasher acknowledged that the festival may change format in the future. It is unclear if this will affect the men's World Tour race and the women's race.

"The short-term future of mass participation events is currently unknown, and because it is important to get as many people as possible cycling more often, we are taking the opportunity in the coming months to completely review the format and timing of the event," Brasher said.

He confirmed that the ride's entry fee would be refunded.