The race was held during theCOVID-19 pandemic, and following the fifth stage, two staff members of one of the teams tested positive for COVID-19.[2]In response, the local authoritiesquarantined and tested all participants, including riders, organisers and team members, and cancelled the remaining two stages.[2][3] As of March 3, 2020, most teams had left the country and returned to their normal early season schedules, but some teams were still being held within the UAE with very little explanation or assurances. They were eventually told they would be allowed to leave their hotel on March 14.[4][5]
The race was consequently won by British riderAdam Yates ofMitchelton–Scott, who was leading the race prior to the cancellation. Yates took the race leader's jersey following the third stage, one of the two mountain-top finishes onJebel Hafeet, taking a clear stage victory with over a minute's advantage overTadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and maintained his lead during the second mountainous stage, won by Pogačar, who was ultimately classified second in the general classification and took the white jersey for the young riders' classification.Alexey Lutsenko ofAstana completed the podium, over a minute and a half behind Yates, thanks to strong finishes on the two mountainous stages.
Among the race's other jerseys, in addition to Pogačar taking the young rider's classification,Caleb Ewan ofLotto–Soudal collected the most points in the points classification thanks to a win on the second stage and consistently high finishes on the other flat stages. The sprints classification was won byVeljko Stojnić ofVini Zabù–KTM, whilst thanks to the high placings of Pogačar,Diego Ulissi andDavide Formolo,UAE Team Emirates took the teams classification, finishing over three minutes ahead of the second best team,Astana.
Twenty teams were invited to the event, including eighteen of the nineteenUCI WorldTeams and twoUCI Professional Continental teams. Each team consisted of seven riders for a total of 140 riders, of which 133 finished.[6]
^Stage cancelled by local authorities following positive tests for theSARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for theCoronavirus disease 2019, from two staff members.