The Tour of Utah has been removed from the 2022 racing calendar
The American stage race last took place in 2019 with the pandemic halting plans in the last two years
The Tour of Utah has been removed from the 2022 racing calendar, at the request of the organisers.
The race has taken place every year between 2010, when it saw its first edition, to 2019 with the pandemic wiping out the next two years. A lack of sponsorship support sees it eliminated for 2022.
The race's terrain boasted a mix of high altitude mountains, punchy climbs, testing time trials and rapid sprint finishes, which made it an extremely entertaining event, with some unlikely stage winners.
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In a statement, owner and President of Medalist Sports, LLC, Chris Aronhalt said: "On-going sponsor and host community discussions have been positive; however, not strong enough to support a viable effort to meet our collective expectations.
"While disappointed, Medalist Sports is grateful for the opportunity and cherishes the Tour of Utah’s legacy."
There have been eight winners of the race over the 10 years of running the race with American riders Levi Leipheimer and Tom Danielson being the most successful with two wins.
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The race also saw the first major appearance of Sepp Kuss as he dominated in 2018. It also remains the only race that Lachlan Morton has taken a win at in his career, with four stage wins and one overall title.
The last rider to win it was Belgian rider Ben Hermans who beat James Piccoli in a great battle for the GC. It was such an impressive display by Piccoli that he was signed by Hermans' squad, Israel Start-Up Nation for the next season.
Utah isn't the first race in the USA to disappear, with the Tour of California pausing in 2019, before the pandemic as well as the USA Pro Challenge and Tour of Colorado all falling by the wayside.
It is not certain whether the Tour of Utah will ever return. It is in a similar position to another stage race across the Atlantic in Yorkshire with the Tour de Yorkshire coming to a close for very similar reasons in 2022 after two years out due to Covid-19. It remains to be seen if either will return.
Tim Bonville-Ginn is a freelance writer who has worked with Cycling Weekly since 2020 and has also written for many of the biggest publications in cycling media including Cyclingnews, Rouleur, Cyclist and Velo.