Departure on August 29 from Nice and arrival on September 20 in Paris: the new dates of the Tour de France were officialized on Wednesday by the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The initial calendar which planned a Great departure at the end of June was shaken by the coronavirus pandemic. The Tour de France has never left so late in the summer since its creation in 1903.
Invited to the 1 pm newspaper of France 2, the boss of the Tour de France, Christian Prudhomme, confirmed these dates, specifying that he was in contact with 49 mayors of common stages. Why at the end of September? "To give runners time to prepare," says Prudhomme, who estimates that it takes four to six weeks for a runner to arrive in optimal condition.
The period of suspension of international competitions is extended by one month until July 1, also announced the UCI at the end of its meeting with stakeholders in cycling, teams, riders and organizers. The postponement of the Tour de France notably results in a displacement of the Vuelta at the end of the season.
La Vuelta after the Giro
On the other hand, the elite race of the Worlds, scheduled for September 27 in Aigle-Martigny (Switzerland) on a rough course, should benefit from the impact of the Tour which will have ended seven days earlier.
"The world championships are maintained on the dates fixed, that is from September 20 to 27, and the competition program remains unchanged," added the UCI.
The new dates for the other major postponed races, in particular the Giro and the “monuments” (great classics), have not yet been specified by the UCI, which has fixed the publication of the new calendar “no later than May 15” and issued the first indications. "The Giro will compete after the Road Worlds and will be followed by the Vuelta," said the international federation without mentioning whether the two events could overlap.
The national championships will take place on the weekend of August 22 and 23. In France, where the pandemic has caused the death of more than 15,000 people since the beginning of March, no race is planned before mid-July, following announcements by the President of the Republic prohibiting public gatherings until this period.
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