The 2020 Tour of Britain has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement released Thursday, race organizer Sweet Spot said that due to the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is "not practical" to continue with plans to host this year's event.

The race was scheduled to run from September 6-13, which would have coincided with the rescheduled Tour de France (August 29-September 20). The next Tour of Britain will take place in September 2021 and will follow the route scheduled for this year.

Sweet Spot had previously announced the cancellation of the 2020 Women's Tour, which was scheduled to take place in June. Both races and the Tour series, also organized by Sweet Spot, are looking for a new title sponsor after OVO pulled out at the end of last year.

"We have taken this decision due to the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 and the impracticality of continuing to plan and host the 2020 event," the Tour of Britain said in a statement on Thursday. [Across the UK, major questions have been raised about the possibility of a major public event and gathering such as the Tour of Britain still taking place in September, and with any social distance remaining secured and no vaccines available, people's health and safety must be given top priority. 9]

"The Local authority partners across the UK are unable to contribute fully to the planning of the event because their priorities lie elsewhere and they are unable to maximize the social, economic and local benefits that hosting a stage of the Tour of Britain will bring to their area"

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While many sports organizations in the UK, including the Premier League, are reportedly looking to hold events behind closed doors, Tour of Britain organizers said they are not considering holding the race without spectators.

"To hold the Tour of Britain behind closed doors or to establish rules for extensive social distancing would not only be highly impractical, but would deprive our venues and spectators of these opportunities, and would be contrary to everything that makes cycling a free-to-watch and accessible event. It goes against everything that makes cycling a free-to-watch and accessible event," the statement said.

The 2021 Tour of Britain is tentatively scheduled for September 5-12, pending confirmation by the UCI. This year's event was originally scheduled to coincide with the Vuelta a España, as per tradition, but after a series of postponements due to the COVID-19 epidemic, it will now clash directly with the Tour de France when the UCI changes its calendar.

The 2021 Tour of Britain will start in Penzance and finish in Aberdeen. The route will be announced later in the year and will include Devon, Warrington, and Cumbria; in 2019, Mathieu Van der Pol won the overall.