Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah Cancelled for 2020 Due to COVID-19 Concerns

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International Event Originally Scheduled for Aug. 3-9 before Coronavirus Pandemic

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (April 3, 2020) — The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah announced today the cancellation of its 2020 professional cycling stage race due to public health concerns from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Rob Britton (yellow) won the overall 2017 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. Here, he defends his lead in Stage 6 on the Little Cottonwood Climb. Photo by Dave Iltis
Rob Britton (yellow) defends his lead on Stage 6 of the 2017 Tour of Utah. Photo by Dave Iltis

“With the best interests of our host communities, riders, cycling fans and partners at heart, the Tour of Utah is focusing on the health and safety of all its participants and has made the difficult decision not to hold its race this August,” said Steve Miller, chairman of the Tour of Utah. “For the past 15 editions, this international cycling event has traveled the scenic byways of Utah, and we will miss gathering communities together to enjoy the race this year.”

The Tour of Utah, the only multi-day men’s cycling stage race in North America on the UCI ProSeries, had been scheduled for Aug. 3-9 with nine host venues and communities, featuring Herriman City at the Zions Bank Real Academy, dōTERRA headquarters in Pleasant Grove, Provo, Payson, Woodward Park City, Snowbird Resort, Ogden, Canyons Village at Park City Mountain and Park City.

“The Tour of Utah was peaking this year with commitments from 17 teams to race in Utah, including five WorldTour teams, its first-time international designation as a UCI ProSeries event, and a tremendous lineup of communities to host the daily start and finish lines of each stage,” said John Kimball, managing director of the Tour of Utah. “We are hopeful to renew many of these partnerships for 2021.”

This fall, the world governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) will announce the 2021 race dates for the men’s professional stage race. The seven-day Tour of Utah has earned the reputation as “America’s Toughest Stage Race.”

“The Tour of Utah has always been one of our marquee statewide sports events and is one of the most respected races in the cycling world,” said Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission. “With its international field of riders and worldwide digital and television reach, it is a wonderful showcase of the people and places in our state. We look forward to seeing the race return in 2021.”

The Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah is free to all spectators, making professional cycling one of the most unique professional sports in the world today. The 2019 event crowned Belgian Ben Hermans of the Israel Cycling Academy as its champion, and EF Education First captured the team title after covering 477 miles of racing and 37,882 feet of elevation gain. Last year’s race attracted 400,000 spectators during race week, featured 21 hours of national television coverage and reached more than 400 million homes via broadcast around the world.

The one-day, non-competitive Ultimate Challenge citizens ride set for Aug. 8 has also been canceled in 2020. The Ultimate Challenge, as part of the Summer of Cycling program, featured the opportunity to ride the same road course as the Tour of Utah professionals from Canyons Village at Park City Mountain.

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