Cofidis General Manager Cédric Vasseur praised the steps taken by the Tour de France organizer ASO and the sport's governing body, the UCI, but stressed that their plan to launch the World Tour calendar still needs validation by government authorities He emphasized that their plan to launch a World Tour calendar still needs to be validated by government authorities.

Last week, the UCI announced a new calendar that includes dates for Grand Tours, Monuments, and several other major World Tour events; the ASO has already announced that the Tour de France will be held between August 29 and September 20.

This calendar was welcomed by the sporting community for obvious reasons, but with the major caveat that all travel, mass gatherings, and sporting events are ultimately determined by national government policy.

"After the month of April, things are looking better; COVID-19 caused trouble and the race was cancelled. The situation in the world was really bad and there was little hope for the cycling season. The news from ASO about the new Tour de France dates is a start, and now the UCI has given us more hope in the calendar," Vasseur told Cycling News.

"We can see that they are trying to get all the big races on the calendar. Of course it is trickier than our place, but with the situation we are all facing, we understand that it is not easy. We just hope that most of the races will take place, but the plans still need to be validated by the national authorities."

Assuming that COVID-19 patient levels remain at a manageable number and confinement measures are eased, Vassoul and his backroom staff will have the mammoth task of developing a race plan for Cofidis.

With a truncated calendar, Vassoul will have to balance several World Tour races at the same time, as well as obligations at the national level. However, Vasseur, a Frenchman and former maillot jaune, admitted that the World Tour calendar is the team's priority.

New signing Guillaume Martin is likely to target the Tour de France and a shortened version of the Vuelta a España, and fellow newcomer Elia Viviani will sacrifice his dream of winning Milan-San Remo this year to allow the team to spread his form over three months

"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do that.

"I sent the calendar to all the players the day it came out. They are very happy with the news. 'I also sent it to the trainers and sport directors, but they need to know more about what's next. We still need to know about some race changes, but it will not be possible for me to compete in both the Giro and the Tour.

"It might be possible for a rider like Guillaume Martin to run the Tour and the Vuelta. The Tour, Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Vuelta. We need to talk about it [because] obviously if you want to win Milan-San Remo, you need to do a lot of hard work in June and July. I don't even know if I can keep running at the same level for two or three months, with Milano-San Remo and the Tour as my goals."

Vassoul also hopes that the French Federation will relieve pressure on his team by relieving Cofidis of the obligation to compete in national-level races when they overlap with World Tour races. The French calendar has not yet been announced.

"There will be one team for the Giro, another for Paris-Roubaix, and a third for the Vuelta. It is impossible to register a fourth rider for another race. It's a lot of work for the riders and the staff to do three races at the same time.

"Normally we are obliged to participate in World Tour races and French races, but since this is the situation, we would like the UCI and the French Federation to give us the possibility to switch, that it is possible to skip some national races.

"I like races like the Tour du Limousin and GP Fulmi, but in the end I need a choice. I will prioritize the World Tour races."