The organisers of the Tour de France, in agreement with the International Cycling Union, confirm the new dates of the Tour, departing from Nice.
The decision had been awaited for some time. What will be the new date for the Tour de France 2020 , due to the containment measures linked to the coronavirus pandemic?
According to information from Dauphiné Libéré , confirmed on Tuesday 14th April 2020 by several other media, the Tour de France will be held from August 29th to September 20th, 2020.
On Wednesday 15th April, the event organisers, Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), confirmed these dates, “in agreement with the International Cycling Union. In a press release , ASO specifies:
“Originally scheduled from June 27th to July 19th, the Tour de France will take place on the planned route, without change, from Nice to Paris.”
Le Tour de France will take place on the planned route, with no changes, from Nice to Paris, from Saturday 29th August to Sunday 20th September.
For more information ➡️ https://t.co/Ik9vmcp7sN#TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/0HSJLLYnXs— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) April 15, 2020
The organizers specify that the women’s event, the Course by the Tour de France with FDJ, scheduled for July 19 on the Champs Elysées, is “also postponed to a date which remains to be defined, but which will be during the Tour de France 2020 ”. ASo adds:
The 30th edition of the Etape du Tour de France cyclosportive, which was scheduled for July 5, is also postponed to a date to be determined.
Gatherings prohibited until at least mid-July
The company ASO (Amaury Sport Organization), which is in the habit of contacting the elected representatives of the stage cities and territories concerned as a priority, did not confirm this date on Tuesday evening.
Scheduled initially from June 27th to July 19th, the Tour de France enters the time zone of prohibited gatherings (until mid-July) by the announcement made Monday evening by the President of the Republic.
The riders, who still have to remain confined, could not have been prepared in time for a grand start set less than two months (the deadline set by Tour Director Christian Prudhomme) after their first outing.
The postponement of the Tour de France should lead to other changes to the calendar, in particular the delay of the Tour of Spain, the Vuelta, scheduled… from August 14th to September 6th.
An essential condition
The first hypothesis raised here and there, a one month shift in the calendar, had major drawbacks. First of all, the proximity of the green light given by Emmanuel Macron to the rallies. But also the difficulty of placing a preparatory race such as the Dauphiné before the start of the Tour as well as the problem posed by the limited hotel capacity in tourist places during the first half of August.
The choice to shift towards the end of the summer takes into account the hoped-for improvement in the health situation. A condition for an event which is much more than a cycle race, a party inseparable from the public to the point that the hypothesis of the closed door, a race without spectators, has died out by itself.
Uncertainty on the subject has led everyone to express themselves as much as the Tour, the peak of the cycling season, is above all essential to the economic balance of their sport. ” It is very simple. If the Tour does not take place, teams could disappear, runners and members of management would find themselves without work, “summed up AFP Marc Madiot, the manager of the Groupama-FDJ team who is also the President of the National Cycling League.
