The 2020 Tour de France has been rescheduled from August 29 to September 20.

The news was announced via videoconference by representatives of the UCI and race organizers, teams, and riders, who also confirmed that all racing will be suspended until at least July 1 due to a coronavirus outbreak.

The new dates of the Tour will affect the Vuelta a España and the postponed Giro d'Italia; according to the UCI, these events will take place after the world championships, which will be held from September 20 to 27.

The Tour was originally scheduled to run from June 27 to July 19, but became impossible earlier this week after French President Emmanuel Macron extended the ban on public gatherings until mid-July.

The ASO acknowledged that in a statement to the AP Tuesday evening before outlining a new date for the race on Wednesday. The route is the same as the one announced in Paris last October, with the Grande Pearl taking place in Nice on August 29 and the time trial in La Planche des Belle Fille on the final day, September 19.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme appeared on France Télévisions' noon news program, Le Journal de 13 heures, to confirm the date change for the 2020 Tour. If the race ultimately goes ahead, it will be the slowest ever to be held; in 1908, Lucien Petit-Breton won back-to-back races in Paris on August 9, the slowest finish in Tour history.

"The Tour will be held two months later than planned. But it will be held on the same course from August 29 to September 20," Prudhomme said.

"I spoke by phone yesterday with 49 elected officials from the host city, all of whom expressed their support."

France is currently under lockdown, and more than 15,000 deaths have been reported since the coronavirus outbreak began; while it remains unclear whether the 2020 Tour will ultimately take place on the scheduled dates or not at all, Prudhomme is trying to position the event as a symbol of recovery. Prudhomme intends to position the event as a symbol of reconstruction.

"It's the first big event that's scheduled, and it's a beacon to look to the future and to be able to say, 'Yes, we can get through this,' even if everybody has to fight now," Prudhomme said.

The coronavirus pandemic has already caused many major sporting events to be postponed until 2021 or cancelled altogether. The Tokyo Olympics, Euro 2020 and Copa America soccer tournaments have been postponed to the summer of 2021, while this year's Wimbledon has been canceled.

This schedule change means that the final stage of the postponed 2020 Tour will clash with the elite men's time trial of the UCI World Championships in Martigny.

Also, the Vuelta a España will be held at a later date; the UCI only noted that the Giro d'Italia "will be held after the UCI World Championships, followed by the Vuelta Ciclista a España," without providing specific dates for the other Grand Tours on the provisional calendar. He did not explain the dates of the other Grand Tours on the tentative calendar.

The UCI has previously suggested extending the 2020 season into November to allow for postponed races, including the spring classics.

The Tour de France has been given priority over all other races on the revised UCI calendar because of its economic importance to teams and sponsors. Writing in Het Nieuwsblad last month, Deceuncink-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefebvre explained the Tour's weight: "If the Tour de France goes away, the whole model of cycling could collapse. 0]

Prudhomme, who had previously dismissed the idea of the Tour de France being held behind closed doors, said Wednesday that the race would respect the social distancing measures still in place in late summer France.

He cited the example of Paris-Nice, the last World Tour race held before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the cycling calendar. On the final day of the race, spectators were locked out of the start and finish of the stage.

"It was the same in Paris-Nice, because then we had to adapt," Prudhomme said. 'The Tour with the new schedule is coming up in four and a half months. I can only confirm that we will follow all the recommendations. I hope, not only for the sake of the Tour, but also for the sake of our country, that we will be able to live more freely by then."

ASO had initially considered summer as the date for the postponed Tour de France, but Prudhomme told L'Équipe on Wednesday that after discussions with UCI medical director Xavier Bigard and the French sports ministry, he was persuaded to move the date "as much as possible."

The French team was not able to compete in the race.

In France, the closure of COVID-19 was extended this week until May 11, and Prudhomme noted on France Télévisions that the preparation of many athletes in France and abroad is limited by the lockdown measures in their home countries.

"The athletes need four or six weeks of training on the road and another month or so of preparation races. For example, the Criterium du Dauphiné. But first we need to make sure that the riders are ready to train.