Participate in the time found. After the Euro football tournament (postponed from June 11 to July 11, 2021), the Olympic Games (July 23 to August 8, 2021) and the Paralympics (August 24-September 5), the Tour de France is moving due to the pandemic of Covid-19, leaves the traditional month of July to settle in September, and dreams of an Indian summer. The Grande Boucle will criss-cross, if the health situation brings the hoped-for improvement, the roads of France from August 29 (at the start from Nice) to September 20 (date of the start of… Roland-Garros in an autumn sports calendar where everything that counts will try to return to the shoehorn). With a 107th edition which would bite a bit in August (as in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1936, 1950, 1954 and 1998) and would venture into September, which the event never did.
Social mirror
The Tour, an incomparable social mirror, would offer to open doors and windows on towns and villages confined recently. To play a role already held. Tour historians fondly recall the memory of the 1947 edition in a France still bearing the deep scars of war, making the legend of Jean Robic and the ordeal. The Tour, which has experienced so many episodes and survived scandals, has only been interrupted by wars, declares itself ready for adventure. “This is the news that everyone has been waiting for. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel, "said four-time winner Christopher Froome on Twitter.
Postponing the Tour de France by two months is not a snap. The event, escorted by 23,000 gendarmes and police (and 16 members of the GIGN), displaces a city of 4,500 people every day.
Postponing the Tour de France by two months is not a snap. The event, escorted by 23,000 gendarmes and police (and 16 members of the GIGN), displaces a city of 4,500 people every day. Changing the box represents a large logistical challenge and opens up a large part of the unknown at the sporting level for the runners and their staff. Since confinement, cyclists sometimes find the time long, live their training sessions on a home trainer (Belgians and Swiss have the freedom to ride outdoors) and sometimes oppose during virtual races, as was the case during the recent Tour of Flanders (thirteen riders pedaling on rollers, connected to each other via an internet platform). >> READ ALSO - Christian Prudhomme: "Have hope, a goal, a goal with this Tour" The riders will have to adapt to the weather (cooler), will test their ability to adapt to the traditional twilight of their season on that date. A way of redistributing the cards in a universe where the programmed preparation of the peloton, the peaks of form are, for a long time, planned. “Sportingly, for me, there is a real suspense. It can change anything and everything. What can it give after this break? The runners are not equal to be able to perform, it goes from a few weeks for some to more time for others. It's almost more salivating. It makes you want to be there even more. There will be many questions, ”says Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France. >> READ ALSO - Tour de France 2020: the route, the stages and 10 things to remember “The riders train. The work done is not as pleasant as it is usual in the mountains, the countryside or the valleys but the time left to the runners will make it possible to fill the gaps. There is the possibility of refreshing yourself, of making the necessary volume ", indicates Vincent Lavenu, manager of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, relieved business manager:" It is a satisfaction compared to our partners because without the Tour, the teams no longer have the desired return on investment. "
Sun Race
The Tour de France, the sun race is the showcase and the pillar of cycling activity. He carries his economy at arm's length. Cédric Vasseur, the manager of the Cofidis team, summarizes: “This is a real message of hope. This gives a source of motivation. A real breath of fresh air. In a calendar that does not fear traffic jams, the International Cycling Union, after having estimated the presence of the Tour "capital in view of its central place in the cycling economy" assured that the "Monuments" (Milan-Sanremo , the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy) will take place this season. Like the Tour of Italy which should be run after the world championships (from September 20 to 27 in Switzerland, in Aigle and Martigny), before being followed by the Tour of Spain. In the aftermath of the "Tour of Renewal". The expression has often flourished in the nauseating wake of the Tours de France following the Festina affair. This time, it could take on its full meaning by accompanying a Great Loop built in exceptional conditions ...
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