Washington, Oct 30 (IANS): Facing economic challenges, Tour Of California's owner AEG Sports has announced that the popular cycling race will not be held in 2020.

"This has been a very difficult decision to make, but the business fundamentals of the Amgen Tour of California have changed since we launched the race 14 years ago," said Kristin Klein, president of the Tour of California and executive vice president of AEG Sports.

"It has become more challenging each year to mount the race. This new reality has forced us to re-evaluate our options," he added.

The multi-stage event has held stops throughout the Bay Area including San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Rosa during the 14 years it has been held. This year's edition was held between May 12-18, reports Xinhua news agency.

Klein remained hopeful the event could return in 2021 as the organizers were "actively assessing every aspect of our event to determine if there is a business model that will allow us to successfully relaunch."