The 2020 Tour de France has been officially postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will now start on Saturday 29 August, race organiser ASO has confirmed.
The Tour was originally due to take place from 27 June to 19 July, but a postponement became inevitable on Monday when French President Emmanuel Macron extended the country's restrictions on large events until mid-July.
The route remains unchanged, with the Grand Départ taking place in Nice, before the race heads to the Pyrenees, Massif Central and Alps.
A mountain time trial will take place on La Planche des Belles Filles on the penultimate day before the 2020 race finishes in Paris on Sunday 20 September.
“Holding [the Tour de France] in the best conditions possible is judged essential given its central place in cycling’s economy and its exposure, in particular for the teams that benefit on this occasion from unparalleled visibility,” said a statement from the UCI.
The 30th edition of the Etape du Tour sportive, originally scheduled to take place on 5 July, has also been postponed, with a new date yet to be determined.
Revised 2020 race schedule
- Tour de France confirmed for 29 August-20 September
- National Road Championships to take place on 22-23 August
- UCI Road World Championship dates unchanged (20-27 September)
- Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España to take place after worlds
- All Monuments to take place in autumn
World Championships unchanged; Giro, Vuelta and Monuments in autumn
The UCI has also announced that all racing has been suspended until July 1, with all WorldTour events suspended until August 1.
The Road World Championships will continue to take place in Aigle-Martigny, Switzerland, from 20 to 27 September – immediately after the Tour – with the season's two remaining Grand Tours, the postponed Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, to follow.
Dates are to be confirmed, but the Giro is likely to take place in October, followed by the Vuelta in November (though the two races could overlap).
Cycling's world governing body has also confirmed all five one-day Monuments will take place in the autumn, though dates for Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Il Lombardia are yet to be announced.
The National Road Championships, which typically take place for European nations on the weekend before the Tour de France, will now take place on 22-23 August.
A revised women's race schedule will be announced on 15 May, according to the UCI, although the ASO has already confirmed La Course will take place as part of the postponed Tour de France.
“I would like to pay tribute to the representatives of the organisers, teams and riders for their collaboration and their commitment in these difficult times," said UCI president David Lappartient. The UCI has committed to reschedule "as many events as possible".
Lappartient continued: "We still have work to do to finalise the establishment of an entirely revised 2020 UCI International Calendar given the coronavirus pandemic that has shaken the world, but a first very important step has been taken today.
"Likewise, we have established a framework that will allow the fundamental rights of teams’ riders and staff to be preserved, while enabling the measures necessary for the survival of these teams to be taken.
"Together, we will manage to get through this crisis and rebuild cycling post-Covid-19.”
