Devi Sridhar, a leading global public health expert and advisor to the Scottish government on the COVID-19 pandemic, described plans to hold the 2020 Tour de France at the end of August as "a recipe for disaster."

Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh and one of the most prominent experts on testing strategies to combat coronavirus pandemics, said that holding the Tour de France even in August would start the re-spread of the virus in Europe He warned that there is a possibility.

"It's a hard decision, but they have no choice," Sridhar told Cycling News. The sensible thing is to cancel this year."

"Tour promoters have to weigh the risks against the benefits. Thousands of people from all over the world gather and travel from town to town, where viruses can thrive. [There is definitely a risk that the Tour de France moving around could unwittingly spread the virus and start a new blockade."

The change in the Tour's schedule became a fait accompli when French President Emmanuel Macron banned major public events until July 11. The Tour was originally scheduled to start on June 27. Following Macron's decree, the Tour was postponed from its original date, with the Grande Palais to be held in Nice on August 29, but even this two-month postponement drew criticism from Sridhar.

"This is a long-term problem, a chronic problem. 'This virus is here to stay and it will come back. Even if France could deal with it by August, of course the problem is people coming in from different countries."

"This (the arrival of the Tour's international convoy) could cause a new group of infections, so we have to consider a quarantine of at least two to three weeks before they can properly enter the country."

That would mean, as Sridhar suggested, that all those working within the tour "bubble" would need to be quarantined at least two weeks before the August 29 Grande Pearl.

"People would have to arrive two to three weeks in advance to allow time for quarantine," she said, while acknowledging that such restrictions are unlikely to be imposed on elite athletes.

"I don't think it would be practical to implement. It would not be like the Tour in previous years. It makes more sense to cancel it. I think that would be more practical."

Ideally, she said, virus testing in the Tour convoy would be grueling.

"Ideally, we would test everyone every day, but the logistics are daunting and expensive. We know that between 20% and 60% of people are pre-symptomatic. In other words, they feel well and show no symptoms, but they are transmitting the virus to other people," she said. [This virus is cunning. There is no cure, no vaccine, and in fact, it will be a year or a year and a half before there is a vaccine.

But even if such fears were unfounded, she reiterated that there are many other issues regarding the tour going on as usual.

"One thing we don't know is whether indoor transmission [of the virus] is different from outdoor transmission. If it wasn't a closed room, they could require everyone, including spectators, to wear masks."

"It's not clear if the virus is transmitted outdoors, but it's not clear if it's transmitted outdoors.

"That could create another problem. 'If fans are used to gathering together and are told they can't because they won't comply, that could be a problem.' Running the tour behind closed doors would set up a situation that could spiral out of control, as it might require the presence of the police or the military to enforce this."