Tour de France 2020: No guarantees over race going ahead, French government warn

The Tour, cycling’s biggest event of the year, has been rescheduled until later this summer but could still be called off

There is no guarantee that the Tour de France will go ahead this year due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Tour, cycling’s biggest event of the year, has been rescheduled to August 29-September 20. With crowd-drawing events being banned in France until the end of August, special arrangements might have to be made for the start of the Tour in Nice, the sports ministry said last month.

“Many people are begging me to keep the Tour even behind closed doors,” French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu told France Television on Tuesday.

“I hope it will take place but I am not sure. We do not know what the epidemic will be like after lockdown.”

France’s lockdown, in place since March 17, will be partially lifted on Monday, although the seasons of several sports championships, including soccer’s Ligue 1 and rugby’s Top 14, have already been abandoned.

Maracineanu added that the Tour and tennis’s rescheduled French Open, expected to start on September 20, could be held behind closed doors should the ban on popular events be extended.

“Just like the Tour de France, the French Open is the quintessence of professional sports with fans,” she added.

“The Roland Garros stadiums have many seats to fill, having it be played behind closed doors would be the worst solution but we would do it if the survival of those sports was at stake.”