Report: Tour de France to run in August, Vuelta in September, Giro in October
Spanish newspaper Marca reports that revised dates have been set for this season’s three Grand Tours.
According to the daily sports paper, race organisers are planning for the Tour de France to be moved to August 2-25 (from June 27-July 19), the Vuelta a Espana to be shifted back from August to September, and the Giro d’Italia to be moved from May to October.
All three races will reportedly run for the full three weeks, with a week between them. It’s not clear how the rescheduled Vuelta would line up with the 2020 Road World Championships, currently scheduled for September 20-27 in Aigle-Martigny, Switzerland.
Marca’s report follows an address from French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday in which he announced no events with large crowds would go ahead in France until mid July at the earliest. That announcement scuppered any lingering hopes that the Tour de France would run in June and July as planned.
Marca reports that organisers of all three races have agreed on the new dates. As yet, though, there has been no official announcement from Tour and Vuelta organiser ASO, Giro organiser RCS, or the UCI.
And as Marca notes, any revised Grand Tour dates also depend on how the coronavirus pandemic evolves from here. Healthcare systems around the world continue to strain under the load of new and existing cases of COVID-19, and lockdowns look set to continue for many weeks and months to come. It’s anyone’s guess when large gatherings like WorldTour bike races will again be deemed safe.
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