While there has been much speculation and debate about when road racing will resume and the possibility of a Tour de France-like race taking place this year, sadly overlooked is the issue of rider mental health.

Riders in most European countries have been under a severe level of lockdown since March, and while restrictions will be lifted in the coming weeks in some countries, there remains a great level of uncertainty surrounding the sport The UCI has been forced to announce a new race calendar had to be postponed, and even if such a date is announced, there is no certainty that major events will be allowed to take place.

The lockdown brings with it many issues regarding the physical and mental health of the athletes and those around them. Athletes worry about their future, and their fears can be heightened or intensified. Some athletes whose contracts expire at the end of the season may worry that they will no longer be able to race, and even those who are on a team will constantly see news reports about the possibility of a team pay cut or team dissolution.

For Alan Piper of UAE Team Emirates, mental health is a higher priority than rider fitness at this point.

"The riders are doing eight-hour rides on their home trainers and it's driving them crazy," Piper told Cycling News. 'They're going to love being out there again, but at the same time, there are going to be a lot of riders who are mentally terrified by all of this. Even the riders who can go out there are worried about their contracts for next year. They're worried about when they're going to be able to show what they can do.

"They are young and have this idea that life goes on forever and everything will be rosy. Even if they have a contract for next year, the team may not last. Or they may not get the same salary. There are many factors to consider. They will be held up for a long time, their goals will be turned over, and they will adapt, but there are definitely cases where mental health will be an issue. From what I understand, and the teams I have been a part of, mental health issues have not been addressed much. But now it's more important than training."

Piper has long been interested in the topic of mental health. He was not in a position to go into specifics about what the team was doing during the lockdown to protect the players and support staff, but the former Australian admitted that management and specialists were on call if needed.

"What is the mental state of each player? There are a myriad of things they could be going through and that is an important factor in who starts the race first. Measures are taken to look at the mental state of the riders. The medical team follows up on that, and the trainers and directors are in constant contact with the riders."

The UCI will announce the reorganized race schedule next week. The reorganized calendar has been postponed for a week, but the governing body is expected to announce several new dates to build a program that will include the already announced Tour de France and UCI Road World Championships.

For Piper, his return to racing will revolve around the Tour de France, but he acknowledges that riders and teams will need to be creative when it comes to rosters and schedules.

"At this point, we have to wait for the calendar to come out on Tuesday. With the Tour de France schedule set, we could probably plan some camps around it, but Tom Dumouairn once said that if we can't get to the mountains by July, we can forget about GC for the Tour de France. Many GC riders and teams do. The start of the move is super important.

"I think the UCI will come up with something that works. But it will be difficult to have competitive riders in all three Grand Tours. Even if they don't race for six months, they need to recover during that time. The starting point has to be the Tour de France. No matter what anyone says, the starting point is the Tour. That's the reality."