The location will introduce the stunning landscape of ancient civilizations to millions of cycling and sports fans around the world.

The race will take place in five different stages, with details related to the track and participants to be revealed shortly.

Other events will place alongside of the Saudi Tour, including a mass-participation race (Saudi Tour Ride); a women’s race (Saudi Tour Women Ride); a junior race organized by the Saudi Cycling Federation (Saudi Tour Challenge); and a dedicated race for children (Mini Kids Race, at every finishing area of the five stages).

Riyadh held the first edition of the Saudi Tour in February 2020, when the German cyclist Phil Bauhaus from Bahrain-McLaren claimed the title with a time of 17:53:38. Nacer Bouhanni of French team Arkea-Samsic came in second with a time of 17:53:40, and Portuguese Rui Costa of the UAE Team Emirates finished third with a time of 17:53:51.

“That’s what I will do with whoever comes in. Hopefully the relationship will be a strong one.”

A pressing concern for Howe in the coming weeks, apart from games and getting points on the board, is the January transfer window and securing new recruits.

Howe has revealed work started on deals at the beginning of December, although he is refusing to make any winter window promises.

“We obviously have players that we have identified between myself, the coaching team, recruitment team,” he said.

“We have a big body of people behind the scenes working on behalf of the football club to try and find a way to strengthen the squad. The work has been going on all through December and a lot of detail has gone into that process,” said Howe.

“But as we all know, you can have the most detailed process in the world but if players don’t want to come to your club or clubs don’t want to sell, January becomes very difficult,” he added. “We are under no illusions, and we make no promises on what will and won’t be done but the work goes on behind the scenes.”

Meanwhile, one current player whose future has been brought into sharp focus by fans in recent weeks has been Allan Saint-Maximin.

The Frenchman was United’s standout player at the start of the season with goals and assists added to his obvious talent.

Those have, however, dried up in recent times and the performances seem to have dipped.

Howe is not losing faith in his enigmatic forward just yet, though — instead focussing on how to get the best out of United trickster.

“Maxi is a huge, huge player for us. He is the catalyst for many things,” he said. “It is all about us trying to function well enough, give enough stability to then give him the ball more and showcase his talents.”

“We need to give him the ball more in the attacking third because he is such an exciting player,” added Howe. “We are still working out the best way to utilize him in each moment of the game.”

• Despite COVID-19 call-offs, Newcastle is one of the few teams to have played every fixture this month

NEWCASTLE: Eddie Howe has hit out at the “unfair” nature of Premier League football in December amid various COVID-19 cancellations.

The Magpies are one of only a small band of clubs who have been forced to play every game so far in the traditionally hectic period, with postponements due to the spread of the omicron variant wreaking havoc on the fixture calendar.

And while Howe has no issues with his side potentially having to play six games in 22 days — if the Magpies’ next three against Manchester United, Everton and Southampton all get the go ahead — he does think questions must be asked about the fairness of that scenario.

That is especially in focus when others in the Premier League will have played half the amount of games in the same period — and will have enjoyed breaks of up to two weeks between games.

Howe said: “I don’t think there is an ideal situation, but I think it is questionable whether it has been fair for everybody.”

The January transfer window adds a totally different dynamic into the equation, with some clubs potentially not playing December games until after they have had a chance to strengthen in the winter window — which opens on Jan. 1.

United will, of course, not have been handed that luxury.

“You have January to think about when teams have a backlog of fixtures that get moved to February and March. They then have the benefit of having those new players for those games, which we won’t,” said Howe. “I think all of these things come into it, but I do understand the difficulty of it because the league needs to be completed.

“We are just following guidelines, not necessarily having too many opinions on what should happen,” he added. “I think that is the way it should be, as we have enough to be getting on with, without getting involved in the political side of things.”

There has been plenty of talk of circuit-breaker stoppages, halting Premier League football until cases within top flight club bubbles can be brought under control. However, at this stage, the league looks set to soldier on in an attempt to fulfill the festive fixture calendar as much as the pandemic allows.

While Howe is unhappy about the unfairness of things this month on that front, he does not want to see games stopped.

“It would be the least preferential route for us, because we know how important the supporters are for us,” he said.

“Since I have come in, they have been absolutely magnificent in every game. I can’t speak highly enough of their support in good and bad moments.

“We would hate to play in front of an empty stadium, but I am obviously aware that the health and safety of everyone connected to football has to come first.

“I have always said I want to play — that’s what we are here to do.

“We are in a desperate fight for points and we want to collate them as quickly as possible.”