Tour de France delayed by coronavirus

The 2020 Tour de France is set to be postponed delayed after the French government said no mass gatherings can take place in the country before July 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Tour de France - Paris Champs-Elysees Stage

The Champs-Elysees stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France in Paris Source: Getty Images

The 107th edition of the Tour was set to begin in Nice on June 27 and conclude in Paris on July 19, but President Emmanuel Macron's announcement means it will not be able to do so.
Organisers ASO have already ruled out the idea of attempting to stage the race behind closed doors, and have been speaking to local authorities due to host stages about alternative dates.

Cycling Central will inform fans once we receive an official statement from ASO.

Cycling's WorldTour has been on hiatus since Paris-Nice finished a day early on March 14, with all subsequent races either postponed or cancelled. The Tour is the next race left on the schedule.

World governing body the UCI has said it is working with stakeholders to draw up a new road racing calendar for 2020, giving priority to the Grand Tours and one-day Monuments.

The Giro d'Italia, due to begin in Budapest on May 9, has already been postponed.
Team Ineos' Egan Bernal won last year's Tour and the British team, winners of seven of the past eight editions, were expected to take a squad including three former winners to the start line in Nice.

Geraint Thomas, winner in 2018, was targeting the race, while four-time winner Chris Froome was making it the focal point of his comeback from career-threatening injuries suffered in last year's Criterium du Dauphine.


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By Cycling Central
Source: Cycling Central


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Tour de France delayed by coronavirus | SBS Sport