Challenge Mallorca 2021 has been postponed

The 2021 Challenge Mallorca has been postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, pushed back from the end of January to mid-May.

The four races, the Trofeo Ses Salines, Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana, Trofeo Andratx and the Trofeo Playa de Palma were set to take place between January 28-31 but organisers have submitted a request to postpone until May 13-16 when they hope the pandemic will pose less of a problem.

Like much of Europe, Spain and Mallorca are trying to contain an uptick in cases, and the current coronavirus measures in place make it impossible to hold the race as soon as the end of January.

Seven WorldTour teams were due to take part in the event's 30th edition, including UAE Team Emirates' Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar, who was due to start his season in Mallorca.

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"We deeply regret having to make this decision, but the current situation forces us to take responsibility and give priority to the health of everyone involved in the race," race director Manuel Hernández said.

The race joins the Tour Down Under and the Tour Colombia, as well as the Tour de Langkawi, on the list of races affected by Covid-19 heading into the 2021 season, with all three of those early season events cancelled.

The men’s WorldTour should now get going with the UAE Tour at the end of February before the opening weekend of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, while the women’s WorldTour will get underway with Strade Bianche on March 6.

Last week, UAE Team Emirates became the first WorldTour outfit to receive a coronavirus vaccination.

27 riders and 32 staff members received the vaccine this week in Abu Dhabi, specifically China’s Sinopharm CNBG vaccine, which has been approved by the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention.