The coronavirus and the restrictions linked to the global pandemic will not get the better of the Tour de France. The Great Loop, which was to be held from June 27 to July 19, has been postponed to September, from August 29 to September 20 precisely, announced ASO, the organizer of the world's largest cycling event on Wednesday noon.
A decision which "follows the declarations of the President of the Republic on Monday evening indicating in particular that there could not be large-scale events in France before mid-July, and this in order to effectively fight against the spread of the epidemic of Covid-19 ", as explained in the text posted on the Tour de France website. ASO specifies that the International Cycling Union has agreed to this postponement.
Méribel awaits the Tour
No change is expected for this 2020 edition which will take place over three weeks, "from Nice to Paris". "The organization of the Tour de France has received all the agreements of the various bodies concerned, communities, public authorities, with which it is in regular relations", it is further specified. In Méribel for example, which was to be the scene of one of the most difficult summit finishes of the course in mid-July, these new dates do not pose any problem. "Obviously we are ready to welcome it. We will have no difficulty in reorganizing this Tour de France event," said Thierry Monin, the mayor.
Hotels ready to receive the Great Loop
Another difficulty of a postponement, room reservations in hotels, for teams but also for members of the organization. This represents, over the entire Tour, tens of thousands of overnight stays.
But in Nice, which was to receive the big departure on June 27, the President of the Union of Trades and Industries of the Alpes-Maritimes hotel industry (Umih 06) wants to be reassuring. There will be no shortage of places, insists Denis Cippolini. "The hotel capacity of the Nice Cote d'Azur metropolitan area is just over 31,000 beds," he explains. "Given our situation today, I would like to be able to ask myself the question of how to house all the people who will arrive in August. Frankly, today that is not the case."
Aware of the economic impact of such an event for the city and its merchants, this hotelier from Nice even adds: "It is imperative that we can receive the Tour de France".