The Tour de France has been postponed for four weeks and could end in mid-August as part of Plan B to ensure the race will be held in 2020, despite the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

According to reports in the French newspaper Le Parisien and the Spanish news agency Efe, Tour de France organizer ASO has contacted the mayors of several towns along the start and finish of the 2020 race route to confirm their support for the delay.

If the French medical experts, the government, and the UCI allow the race to go ahead, the new Plan B dates would start in Nice on Saturday, July 25 and end in Paris on Saturday, August 16.

The 2020 Tour de France is currently scheduled for June 27-July 19, but due to the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and strict rules aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, few expect the race to be held on these dates.

This earlier date was chosen to allow athletes to finish the race and travel to Tokyo for the Olympics. With the Olympics postponed until 2021, and with France and other countries needing more time to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 virus, a later date appears to be the best solution.

While other major sporting events throughout Europe have been postponed or cancelled, the Tour de France is considered vital to the survival of many major professional teams that rely on the global visibility of the three-week race to justify title sponsorship. The Tour de France is also considered to symbolize France's recovery from COVID-19.

Last week, race director Christian Prudhomme rejected the idea after local mayors protested that holding the Tour de France closed would severely limit tourism and economic benefits. Those same mayors are reportedly in favor of postponing the event to later in the summer. Towns and places are said to pay 80,000 euros to host the stage start and at least 120,000 euros to host the stage finish, knowing that they will benefit from the tourism and consumption by the large crowds.

"It is better to hold the Tour de France in August than not to hold it or to hold it without spectators," one mayor told the "Efe" news agency.

"If the public health situation is better by then, delaying it a month is not a problem. We can maintain the logistics we had planned," said Michel Villa of Privas, the town that will be the finishing site of the fifth stage.

"July 1 was perfect because we were able to start the tourist season, but this year everything will be delayed; I don't think the hotels will be full in August."

Since Paris-Nice in mid-March, all races have been suspended and all spring classics and other races have been postponed or cancelled. The next major races still scheduled to take place this year are the Tour de France for the men and the Trofeo Alfredo Binda for the women, scheduled for June 6.

While the Tour de Suisse has been canceled, ASO is still trying to organize a Criterium du Dauphiné in late June as a test of organizational strength in a post-COVID-19 scenario and to give riders a chance to race before starting the three-week Grand Tour. to give the riders a chance to race before the start of the three-week Grand Tour.

ASO has refused to comment on its plans for the Tour de France, but has reportedly set a May 15 deadline for deciding whether the Tour will be held on the scheduled dates or postponed.