The 2020 Tour of Oman is set to be rescheduled for early March after its cancellation earlier this month, according to a report from WielerFlits.
Originally scheduled as a ProSeries event for February 11-16, the race could now instead be run from March 3-8. The news comes after all major events in the country were suspended or cancelled after the death of the ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said on January 10.
Race organisers ASO, which was not available for comment Thursday afternoon, confirmed the race's cancellation last week, citing "the extension of the national mourning following the death of the Sultan."
It appears, however, that the company has been working to find a new date for the six-day race in the meantime.
After Sultan Qaboos' death following 49 years as leader of the country, a three-day period of national mourning was observed. However, a longer 40-day period followed, with the Ministry of Tourism instructing the cancellation of numerous events around Oman.
The cancellation left a number of riders with a gap in their early season schedule, including Mark Cavendish (Bahrain McLaren). Elia Viviani (Cofidis) will head to the Volta ao Algarve as he completes his racing programme before focusing on the track World Championships.
ASO is currently understood to be approaching teams to participate on the new March date, which will clash with WorldTour races Strade Bianche and Paris-Nice.
The race, first run in 2010, had established itself as part of the early season block of racing in the Gulf states, along with the UAE Tour, the Saudi Tour, and the now-defunct Tour of Qatar.
Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) won last year's race, taking three stages including the summit finish at Green Mountain.
