Tour de France rescheduled to August 2020 following postponement

The Tour de France has announced it will still go ahead in 2020 with the race being rescheduled to August 29 after following COVID-19 guidelines. 

Yesterday it was announced that the world’s most famous cycling race had to be postponed after French President Emmanuel Macron declared that all public events with large crowds would be canceled until at least mid-July.

Organisers of the race have quickly revealed its new scheduled dates in order to put to rest any rumours of the competition’s cancelation.

A Tour de France spokesperson stated: “Following the President’s address on Monday evening, where large-scale events were banned in France until mid-July as a part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the organisers of the Tour de France, in agreement with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), have decided to postpone the Tour de France to Saturday 29th August to Sunday 20th September 2020.

“Initially scheduled to take place from the 27th June to the 19th July, the Tour de France will follow the same route, with no changes, from Nice to Paris. Over the last few weeks, there has been constant communication between riders, teams, the organisers as well as other relevant third parties all with the support of the UCI, who are responsible for arranging a new global cycling schedule, in which the Tour de France takes pride of place.”

According to the statement, the organisers had been in regular contact with all the different authorities involved, including the government to ensure that the date set will be beneficial for all parties.

The race’s women’s event will also be rescheduled following COVID-19 guidelines. However a date has not been determined as of yet. Nevertheless the event is likely to take place during the Tour de France schedule. 

“We would like to thank all of cycling’s stakeholders, the Tour de France’s partners, its broadcasters as well as all of the local authorities for their reactivity and their support. We all hope that the 2020 Tour de France will help to turn the page on the difficult period that we are currently experiencing,” continued the spokesperson. 

Insider Insight: Tour de France’s continuation will undoubtedly be a positive decision to all the cyclists and team’s involved with the race as they will still be able to commit to sponsorship contracts, albeit at a revised date.

The Tour de France also garners a lot of worldwide attention, bringing a lot of tourists to the country and so the later schedule should hopefully allow for spectators to see the event.

 

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