Romain Bardet, who had originally planned to bypass the Tour de France in order to expand his horizons at the Giro d'Italia, will eventually compete in his home Grand Tour in 2020 due to a reorganization of the race calendar on Wednesday.

After a disappointing 15th place finish at last year's Tour de France, Bardet decided to skip the race in 2020 and focus on the Giro, Olympics, Vuelta a España, and World Championships.

With all racing suspended until July due to the coronavirus outbreak, it was announced on Wednesday that the Tour de France will be held from August 29 to September 20, with the world championships immediately following.

The Giro will be held in October, with the Vuelta postponed to November.

In a conference call following the announcement, AG2R La Mondiale team manager Vincent Lavigne said that Bardet's participation in the Tour was "highly likely" and that it was "essential" for the team that he be there.

"Initially, we had programmed him to discover the Giro in May, but the events we are all experiencing have turned the calendar upside down and opened up new perspectives," Lavenu said.

"The Tour de France takes place in August and September and is the big event of the season. With the Olympics and Euro 2020 soccer postponed to 2021, the Tour will be the major world sporting event of the year.

"The fact that this competition is taking place is an important moment in our social and sporting lives, and it will be crucial for the team to shine there. Romain Bardet is clearly the leader of the team and it is essential that he is at the start."

Ravigne also noted that the Tour de France is linked to one of Bardet's original goals, the World Championships, which will be held on a hilly Swiss course on September 27.

"The World Championships will be held one week after the Tour.

"The riders come back from the Tour in very good shape (albeit tired).

Regarding the possibility of competing in two Grand Tours, Lavenu says that the proximity of the Tour, World Championships, and Giro makes competing in the Giro "complicated" for Bardet, but "the combination of Tour and Vuelta is more likely."

Lavenu said it was "premature" to set ambitions for Bardet and the rest of the team in the changed Tour, but insisted that the team would fight for overall classification and stage wins.

Pierre Latour, who was scheduled to lead the race in Bardet's absence, will still play an important role, and Lavene has also checked in on young French punthour Benoit Cosnefrois and classics specialist Oliver Naessen.

"We have to be thankful for this moment and the fact that the Tour de France will most likely take place," he said.

"We're going to do everything we can to build a competitive team," he said. Romain is the team leader with two podiums and the polka-dot jersey, but I'm not going to put a number on that today."