Lingering hopes that the Tour de France might take place as scheduled in June appear to have been dashed following an intervention by Emmanuel Macron.
In an address to the nation on Monday night, the president of France said the country would remain in lockdown until 11 May in a continued attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19 and no large public events will be permitted before 11 July.
The Tour was to begin on 27 June in Nice, with the Colombian Egan Bernal hoping to defend his title against his Ineos teammate Chris Froome; the former champion due to return to the event after missing last year’s race following a career-threatening crash.
There has been no confirmation of the postponement of the Tour, with a formal announcement expected later this month. The organisers have already rejected staging the race behind closed doors.
The race director, Christian Prudhomme, said earlier this month: “In the words ‘Tour de France’, the most important one is ‘France’. It’s the health situation of the country that counts.
“There’s only one thing I want and that’s the Tour de France takes place this summer. That’s not for the Tour de France’s sake; more that if it doesn’t take place, it’ll mean the country is in a catastrophic situation, which we really hope isn’t the case.”
He went on to insist: “Le Tour is the embodiment of France and it will not take place behind closed doors”
The women’s Tour de France has already been postponed. The men’s Giro d’Italia has been called off, along with the Monument one-day races: Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. The WorldTour series has been suspended since 14 March.
Last week the sport’s governing body, the International Cycling Union, furloughed staff and cut executive salaries, citing the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics as a primary factor.
The UCI has said it is working to draw up a new road racing calendar for 2020, giving priority to the Grand Tours and Monuments.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/14/tour-de-france-on-hold-after-macron-extends-outdoor-sports-ban-till-july-cycling