CYCLING CLASSIC: The prefect of Hauts-de-France wonders about the possibility of maintaining or not the mythical Paris-Roubaix event
This Monday morning, the prefect of Hauts-de-France, Michel Lalande, threw a bomb, or rather a paving stone, on the antenna of our colleagues from France Bleu Nord. According to him, in view of the galloping spread of the coronavirus epidemic in the region, the question must be asked whether or not to maintain the Paris-Roubaix cycling race.
The peloton should have launched an assault on the cobbled roads of the legendary Paris-Roubaix in a little over a month, on October 25th. It was already not the usual period since this year, the 118th edition was to leave Compiègne on April 12, or in full confinement.
A different context from the Tour de France
Bad luck for the organizers, who stopped the new date without suspecting that it would fall in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic. It is not the prefect who puts the subject on the table, but when the question is asked, he replies that the performance of Paris-Roubaix is uncertain. “ The Tour de France has taken place. I imagine that health measures are also studied for Paris-Roubaix, ”said the representative of the State.
To be sure, Michel Lalande specifies that he will soon meet the organizers. The date has also been set for Thursday, confirmed the prefecture at 20 minutes . It is a question of “seeing, in a context of increased circulation of the virus compared to the Tour de France, what position we take on the Paris-Roubaix”, he added. The race is organized by ASO, which also manages the Tour and the Dauphiné Libéré, among others. For Paris-Roubaix, the Hauts-de-France region and the European Metropolis of Lille are partners and are particularly interested in holding the event. However, the region did not wish to communicate on this subject.
