Thomas van den Spiegel, CEO of the Flanders Classic, has reiterated his intention to hold the postponed Tour of Flanders before the end of 2020.

The Ronde, scheduled for this Sunday, was one of the races postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak; the UCI has confirmed that all competition will be suspended until June 1, and several subsequent races, including the Tour de Suisse, have already been cancelled.

The UCI has met with race organizers and teams to discuss contingency plans to hold the postponed classics in late summer or fall. The cycling season was extended in principle until November 1, but due to the ongoing crisis in Covid 19, a clear picture of the calendar revision has not yet emerged.

"The Rondo will be held this year. Everyone agrees on that. At this point, however, it is hypothetical because we do not know exactly when the coronavirus crisis will end. We are open to all scenarios, but for now we have to respect the measures," Van den Spiegel said on Belgian television station VRT on Sunday (opens in new tab).

"There are still five or six months to go before the deadline for the 2020 Tour de Flanders. But I think we have to be optimistic."

The Flanders Classic was cancelled in the spring due to the coronavirus outbreak; Omloop Het Nieuwsblad was successfully held in February, but since then organizers have been forced to cancel the Gent-Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Tour of Flanders, Scheldeprijs, and Brabantse Pijl had to be postponed.

"We are stable enough as an organization to handle it for a while," van den Spiegel said. 'But we are looking forward to the moment when cycling will resume. It will have a huge impact on everyone, including the teams and organizers."

Many WorldTour teams, including the CCC team, Bahrain McLaren, Astana, and Lotto Soudal, have cut their riders' salaries due to the race hiatus; whether top-level competition will resume in 2020 remains to be seen, but van den Spiegel said a blank Van den Spiegel warned that a year without competition would have serious consequences for the sport.

"In any case, the financial consequences will be huge, and cycling is already a fragile model for teams and organizers alike. Because it won't take long for everything to fall apart," van den Spiegel said.

With the Tour de Flanders not taking place this Sunday, the Flanders Classic hosted a virtual version of the men's race, the "Tour de Flanders": in this event, Remco Evenpole, Wout Van Aert, Oliver Naessen and other Riders competed on turbo trainers in an online recreation of the final 32 km of the Ronde.