[ad_1]
The 2020 Tour de France, scheduled to start on Saturday in Nice, is approaching collapse after the Alpes-Maritimes region, site of the first stages of the race, was put on red alert due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. .
Tensions around the race escalated further Thursday evening after the Lotto-Soudal team announced that two members of their team’s support staff had tested ‘non-negative’ for Covid-19 and had been fired from Nice . “Safety remains the number one priority,” the statement read.
“Only the world wars have stopped the Tour de France,” said Tour director Christian Prudhomme in March of this year, but growing concerns over the wisdom of moving forward with this year’s race. led to a cross-examination of the Prime Minister. , Jean Castex, by journalists Thursday.
“We have taken a lot of health precautions and protocols and I remind you that this is an outdoor event,” Castex said. “The places where the virus spreads and where there is transmission have no organization. The Tour has an organizer. “
Confirming that Nice was one of 19 new regions to be placed on red alert, Castex said “the pandemic is regaining ground and now is the time to intervene”, adding: “France must do everything to avoid a new lock. “
But the French Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, echoed Prudhomme in saying that the Tour must continue. “It is a sign that we can continue to live and of the resilience of our society,” he said.
Stages 1 and 2 both end in central Nice on Saturday and Sunday and are sure to attract large numbers of roadside fans. They also include several of the main mountain climbs just inland from the city.
Prudhomme had also sworn that the promoter of the race ASO would not organize the Tour without a crowd, or “behind closed doors”, but the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes has now hinted that on the big climbs of this weekend at least this could well be the case. Bernard Gonzalez, prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes, declared that a “reduced scale” of the Grand Départ would take place “almost behind closed doors”.
This sense of caution has been confirmed by the mayor of the city, Christian Estrosi. “We don’t want any mistakes by Monday [when the race leaves Nice], “he said.” We want to show people around the world that we are blameless. “
But heightened skepticism that this year’s Tour will travel to Paris or even the first day of rest, September 7, has set in, including some of the names of the stars of the peloton.
“The way 2020 is going, nothing surprises me more,” said Irish sprinter Sam Bennett. “We just have to stay open-minded. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in Paris, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t make it through the weekend.
With uncertainty over the duration of the Tour gripping the Grand Départ bubble, some teams have hinted that they will run day in and day out, while others have insisted that this will not change their tactics in the long run.
“We don’t have a strategic plan to be in the lead in case the race stops after a week and a half,” said Tom Dumoulin, former Giro d’Italia champion and teammate of Primoz Roglic.
“The winner after a week and a half is not the real winner of the Tour de France. It’s not a Tour de France, it’s a 10 day race. It’s a completely different race. We are preparing for a Grand Tour and we want to win the Tour de France.
“At the moment it doesn’t look good with some numbers around Nice and France, but at the moment we’re just in our own bubble and just looking to get back into the race,” said the Dutchman.
Still, speculation is growing that ASO has made a contingency plan, in the event that the Tour is stopped and a winner is not declared until after the race has passed the midpoint of Stage 10. But the current cycling rules, both made up of UCI and ASO regulations, are not clear and do not take into account the prospect of a truncated or canceled Tour.
The current regulations of the Tour stipulate that “the individual general classification by time is established by each rider in the 21 stages taking into account penalties and time bonuses” and with reference to the green points jersey or the king of the mountains jersey. specifically states that “the victors […] must finish the Tour de France ”. But while the race is still on the line, UCI President David Lappartient confirmed that a women’s stage race, organized by ASO, was to be launched in 2022, organized immediately after the arrival of the Men’s Tour in Paris. .
“I don’t know yet if this race will also be called Tour de France,” Lappartient told Dutch website Wielerflits.nl. “I am sure that ASO will be ready to put this event on the calendar in 2022. It is a very good step in the development of women’s cycling.”
[ad_2]
Source link