Tour de France postponed amid coronavirus pandemic

Tour de France has been postponed to August 29 to September 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event was initially slated to take place in June this year.

"Following the President's address on Monday evening, where large-scale events were banned in France until mid-July as a part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the orgsers of the Tour de France, in agreement with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), have decided to postpone the Tour de France to Saturday 29th August to Sunday 20th September 2020," Tour de France said in a statement.

The statement also stated that the route will remain the same for the event that is from Nice to Paris.

"Initially scheduled to take place from the 27th June to the 19th July, the Tour de France will follow the same route, with no changes, from Nice to Paris. Over the last few weeks, there has been constant communication between riders, teams, the orgsers as well as other relevant third parties all with the support of the UCI, who are responsible for arranging a new global cycling schedule, in which the Tour de France takes pride of place," the statement read.

The women's event, La Course by le Tour de France Avec FDJ, has also been postponed but the dates are yet to be finalised.

"The women's event, La Course by le Tour de France avec FDJ, which was initially scheduled to take place on the 19th July on the Champs Elysees, will also be postponed to a date that is still to be determined, but it will take place during the Tour de France 2020. Equally, the 30th edition of the Etape du Tour cyclosportive, originally schedule to take place on the 5th July, will be postponed to a date yet to be determined," the statement read.

( With inputs from ANI )