A letter sent by the UCI to teams, race organizers, and national federations on May 5 and obtained by Cyclingnews provides details on the revised 2020 race calendar.

The letter, signed by UCI President David Lapartient, mentions August 22 and 23 as the new dates for the elite road races for the 2020 national championships, although in some countries these dates fall within the respective lockdown periods for sporting events remain within the respective lockdown periods for sporting events.

"I am aware that some national federations may not be able to obtain permission to host national championships this weekend. Depending on how the situation develops, additional alternative dates may be proposed to the National Federations, and the UCI will be in contact with the National Federations involved in this matter at a later date."

One such example is France, which has banned rallies of more than 5,000 people until September 1. Ludovic Silvestre, vice president of the French Cycling Federation (FFC), told Le Télégramme on Tuesday that they may be considering holding the French road race championships in October instead, with Barguil winning the 2019 title in late June last year If he is selected for his Arkea-Samsic team on the weekend when national championships are normally held each year in European countries, he would wear the tricolor jersey for the second year in a row and compete in the rescheduled Tour de France (August 29-September 20).

And although La Partiente made it clear that "the number of riders per team will remain eight in the Grand Tour and seven in the other stage races," the letter to teams and race organizers also included further instructions regarding team sizes for the various events.

However, Van der Poel's pro team-level teams, along with others, could be invited to various World Tour-level one-day races because of the potential reduction in team size.

"Organizers of UCI WorldTour one-day races may reduce the number of riders per team to six (from the usual seven) with the agreement of the Professional Cycling Council for each event. This flexibility allows organizers to adjust the number of riders according to the circumstances of the event."

." This provision should also allow organizers with this possibility to invite more UCI pro teams to their events, benefiting the latter.

"In UCI WorldTour one-day races, teams may start with six or seven riders without penalty if the organizer has set the number of riders at seven. If the organizer sets the number of riders at six, the team must start with six. This flexibility allows for more versatile teams to participate in more events.

La Partiente also noted that the fact that the UCI has some flexibility regarding the usually very strict rules regarding team sizes for events suggests that teams, federations, and race organizers also need to retain some flexibility around the proposed season It was clarified that.

"Depending on the evolution of this situation, and in particular on the decisions of national governments, the above rules and procedures may be modified in the event that the season resumption date is changed, a number of competitions are cancelled, or the entire 2020 season is terminated.

"Given the uncertainty as to whether competitions will resume as planned, we call upon all parties to consider the various assumptions that may arise."