The Tour de France has already been scheduled for August 29-September 20 and will be the first Grand Tour of the new fall road racing season. Although France prohibits gatherings of more than 5,000 people until the end of August, race organizer ASO is hoping that by securing some exemptions and following protocols that protect the health of the riders and the public, the Grande Palais can be held in Nice in late August as scheduled.
The ASO also hopes to host the Criterium du Dauphiné for five days, August 12-16. Meanwhile, the Tirreno-Adriatico, an important preparation for the Giro d'Italia, will be held September 8-14 during the Tour de France.
Italy is beginning to emerge from a tight blockade after nearly 30,000 COVID-19 victims, and if the resurgence is contained, Milan-San Remo will take place on August 8. The Prudential RideLondon-Sully Classic is set for August 16, and the Bretagne Classic on Tuesday, August 25, just days before the Tour de France.
The Grand Prix Cycliste du Quebec and Montreal will keep their original dates of September 11 and 13, followed by a block of Classics in October.
The E3 Binkbank Classic, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Iturria Basque, and Donostia San Sebastian Classicoa (Spain) have all been canceled at the request of race organizers. The dates for the one-day races in EuroEyes Cyclassics Hamburg and Eschborn-Frankfurt, Germany, have not yet been confirmed.
Only one event of the 22-race Women's World Tour was held before the COVID-19 pandemic led to a global blockade in mid-March. While many organizers opted to cancel the 2020 races, the UCI announced that the new women's calendar will begin with the Strade Bianche on August 1. The Giro Rosa will take place on the new dates of September 11-19, and the three-day Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta on November 8 will be the last of the new 18-race women's 2020 World Tour.
The women's Paris-Roubaix has been added to the calendar, with the first event taking place on Sunday, October 25, the same day as the men's.
The Strade Bianche will take place on Saturday, August 1, and the other races will focus on World Tour races until Il Lombardia on Saturday, November 14, giving riders and teams three and a half months of intense racing. Athletes currently outside Europe may have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period when moving to Europe and may have to undergo a COVID-19 inspection.
Teams are urged to return to racing once it is deemed safe to do so in order to provide a return on investment for sponsors who have missed months of major races.
The new race calendar was approved by the UCI's Management Committee and the Professional Cycling Council (PCC), which is made up of various stakeholders, including race organizer teams, riders, and UCI Management Committee members. However, the UCI acknowledged that the race may be moved again, postponed, or even cancelled, depending on the status of virus control in each country, as the battle to control COVID-19 continues.
Many national road race championships, especially in Europe, are scheduled for September 22-23, but these could be postponed to a later date if some countries do not allow the races by then. the UCI Road World Championships are scheduled for September 20-27, but local organizers said a final decision will be made in late June and will depend on whether public gatherings of more than 1,000 people are banned in Switzerland.
"These dates, which are important for all concerned, are of course contingent on the lifting of restrictions on the holding of events implemented by the authorities in the regions concerned until the end of the season. The situation is changing and the UCI may need to adjust its calendar to take into account the progress of the pandemic," the UCI said when announcing the new calendar.
The UCI confirmed that Grand Tour team sizes will remain at eight riders, but may be reduced from seven to six for some one-day races.
The UCI has also set up a steering group under the authority of UCI Medical Director Xavier Bigard to define the special health and safety measures needed to protect teams from the risk of COVID-19 in the race.
The steering group will include representatives from teams, team doctors, riders, and race organizers and will develop protocols for safe social distancing, pre-race testing, and strategies if a rider or team member tests positive for COVID-19. Other sports, including soccer, are devising similar protocols.
The biggest doubt is whether the race will be stopped and riders placed in protective quarantine if a COVID-19 infected rider appears during the race.
The UCI indicated that the organization of the end-of-season dates for all other events on the UCI International Road Calendar will be announced on May 20 at the latest, after consultation with the national federations.
"It is our responsibility to support the riders of the road cycling family by introducing support measures, both sporting and financial, to help them get through this unprecedented period for cycling and our Federation since the crisis began," UCI President David Lapartiento said.
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