Tour of Norway cancels 2026 edition due to lack of government funds

The Tour of Norway is Norway's biggest cycling race, running for over a decade, and is on the UCI Pro Series. Notable winners of the race in the past include Remco Evenepoel, Alexander Kristoff, and Matthew Brennan. 

The race was under threat, thanks to the Norwegian government's budget, which had supplied a significant proportion of the race budget in a public and private partnership, but it remained up in the air whether the budget would be passed, until it was recently.

In the press release, General Manager of the Tour of Norway Roy Hegreberg said, "After the government's unexpected funding cut, there is no longer a financial basis to continue work on next year's event. The board of Fjords Cycling, the organisation behind the Tour of Norway, has therefore decided to halt all planning."

"I respect that the parliamentary majority prioritises as they do, but I would have liked to have seen contact in advance. This came like a bolt from the blue, and there has been little willingness to dialogue with us," added Hegreberg.

Hegreberg previously spoke to Domestique had outlined the plans for the 2026 edition, which had included climbs above 1000 metres in elevation, and was confident that the race would still go ahead.

The race aims to be back on the racing calendar in the 2027 season, with the General Manager stating, "We will do everything we can to ensure that this is a temporary setback, not the end of the Tour of Norway."