2. Pro Rank's Tour of Britain director Mick Bennett said in an interview with ITV on Monday that he is optimistic about the 2020 event. The dates of the event are September 6-13, which coincides with the Tour de France. All professional races are still up in the air until the coronavirus pandemic is figured out.

With the French government continuing its restrictions on large gatherings until early September, Bennett said he would be "completely staggered if the Tour de France takes place."

"It's staggered, but in a positive way if it happens. The Tour de France is a three-week long, global event. It is a much more global event than the Tour of Britain in terms of logistics, the number of race participants, and people coming from all over the world and from different regions with different restrictions."

The UCI is expected to release a new calendar, which, if it is the same as the one leaked on Monday, would start with the Strade Bianche, Tour de Pollogne, Milan-San Remo, and Criterium du Dauphiné in Italy on August 1, followed by various national championships and GP de Ploué will be held. The Tour de France was originally scheduled to start on June 27, but was changed to August 29-September 20.

If the leaked calendar is correct, the Tour of Britain will overlap with the Tour de France and Tirreno-Adriatico (tentatively September 8-14).

However, the overlap will be less than originally planned for 2020, as the calendar has been shuffled to accommodate the Olympics and the Tour of Britain will compete with the Vuelta a España, Gran Prix Québec and Montréal, and the Bink Bank Tour. The overlap will be less than what was originally planned for 2020.

Organizer Sweetspot previously confirmed to Cycling News that the Tour of Britain schedule will remain unchanged and that it is working with broadcasters to secure live coverage of the Tour of Britain and Tour de France.

The UCI has yet to include any non-World Tour events on its calendar, but Bennett is hopeful that the Tour of Britain, which will start in the southernmost town of Penzance and finish in the far north in Aberdeen, will be given the go-ahead by the British government.

"We must hope that, if conditions permit, a shorter or smaller race with fewer spectators and less complicated logistics will be held in the UK. The Tour de France, the Giro, and the World Championships are all very important to cycling as a sport, and if they are held, there is hope for all cycling events."

." But without looking like a fool, it is very difficult to make predictions at the moment." "Especially since the situation will be very different from country to country in the future."

Sweetspot has also arranged a women's tour of the World Tour event, which was scheduled to take place from June 8-13, but chose to cancel the race and focus on 2021 instead.

The ability to host the Tour of Britain depends on Sweetspot being able to visit the host city and begin preparations for the race, which depends on travel restrictions being relaxed.

"Probably by mid-June, we need to get on site. We probably need to get in there by mid-June," he said. [There is no other event that covers the whole country, from Penzance to Aberdeen. It will show that the Tour of Britain is part of the country's major events.