Team Ineos' Directeur Sportif, Servais Naveen, suggested that the British team stick to its Tour de France plans and name Eoghan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, and Chris Froome as team leaders. But he warned that the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the five-month absence from the race meant that the riders would start the Tour as if they were racing in February, having only raced the Ruta del Sol earlier in the season.

"This is a kind of winter period, but the riders will start a big race like the Tour with their usual legs for Ruta del Sol," Knaben said in a video interview with Belgian TV channel Sporza (opens in new tab).

"The positive thing is that it's the same for everybody. It's the same for everybody.

The UCI announced the dates for the new season this week, combining all the big WorldTour races and three Grand Tours into 71 days, from August 1 to November 8.

The Tour de France will start in Nice on August 29 and end in Paris on September 20, if local authorities determine that the COVID-19 epidemic is over and allow the sport's biggest race to take place. The only preparatory races will be the Tour de l'Ain (August 7-9) and the scaled-down Criterium du Dauphiné (August 12-16).

The Giro d'Italia will be held October 3-25, the Vuelta a España October 20-November 8, and the one-day classics will be spread out over the fall; on October 25, Paris-Roubaix will be held on the same day as the final stage of the Giro d'Italia and the Queen of the Vuelta It will be a "super Sunday" of cycling with a stage to the summit of Tourmalet.

Team Ineos would target the Giro d'Italia with 2019 winner Richard Carapas, while Bernal, Thomas, and Froome would focus on the Tour de France. Despite a number of new logistical issues, the plan remains.

"It's nice to have luxury, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy," Knaben admits of Team Ineos' depth of riders. It's like a puzzle for the other teams."

"We've got a lot of riders. We have enough riders to fill a race, but we also have to look at the staff and logistical elements.

"We have six team leaders. Normally we send three team leaders for the Grand Tours and two for the Classics, but we can no longer do that. It has been our plan for some time to send Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, and Egan Bernal to the Tour; we are not 100% decided, but we are still thinking about that approach.

"Richard Karapas is in a slightly different situation. The Tour has been moved up two months from the original schedule and the Giro five months earlier. It's a lot harder mentally and we need to see what else he can do."

Like its main rivals, Team Ineos has already begun to consider its race and training schedule. In Monaco and southern France, outdoor training will be permitted starting Monday, May 11. In addition, outdoor riding is already allowed in Italy and Spain. Thomas is in Wales, where riding is restricted, and Bernal recently returned to outdoor training in Colombia after receiving special permission from a local major.

The riders will likely return to their European bases soon to begin serious training and avoid fence problems.

"We have to make a strategic choice," said Mr. Bergman. 'When will someone return to Europe, as late as possible, or will they not do it because there may be a quarantine period?' [The same goes for American boys. We have to wait and see what will be allowed in Europe.

I don't think Egan is worried about that right now. He is in the right place. But there is no way he is coming to Europe three days ago after being in Colombia for six months. The closer the race gets, the more nervous the riders will be.

Team doctors are already working on medical protocols for races and training camps. Some riders may be able to go to the mountains for high altitude training camps, but in small groups, perhaps supported by local soigneurs.

"All teams will be looking at that very carefully; who knows what will be possible in two weeks, let alone at the end of June. We will have to consider many scenarios, and when the time comes, we will have to implement one of those scenarios," Knaben said. [It is better to have a calendar than not to have one.