According to a report in Sunday's L'Equipe, French professional athletes will again be allowed to train outdoors beginning May 11. However, the possibility of training outdoors will be welcomed after 55 days of only being allowed to train indoors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

This report comes a day after the French Cycling Federation (FFC) called for the restrictions on athletes to be lifted. Competitions are now suspended until at least July 15, and the FFC said it is "working to find a new event format that will stay within health restrictions."

Since mid-March, all professionals residing in France have been forced to train indoors with turbo trainers while France, like Italy and Spain, operates strict isolation rules. However, athletes living in countries including Belgium and the Netherlands are still allowed to train outdoors.

It has already been announced that Italian athletes will again be allowed to train outdoors starting May 4. [According to L'Equipe, the announcement that professional and amateur athletes may be allowed to train outdoors, along with other measures related to sports, tourism, and the food industry, was made on Tuesday by the Ministry of Health. The announcement, along with other measures related to sports, tourism, and the food industry, will be officially announced by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Tour de France could run from August 29 to September 20, the new dates proposed by cycling's governing body, the UCI, and race organizer ASO. But French Sports Minister Roxana Marassineanou said last week that even if the Tour cannot be held, "it will not be the end of the world. 'In our society, sport will not be a priority. In today's government decisions, sport is not a priority," she said, later clarifying that the French government's priority is the health of its citizens in the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Marassineanu's initial comments prompted a strong reaction from Marc Madiot, director of the French WorldTour team Groupama-FDJ.

"It is hard to believe that this is coming from a sports minister who exists to defend sport. Sport is an important economic driver."