As pro cycling teams, riders, and race organizers hold an important conference call with the UCI on Wednesday to protect the 2020 road season, three possible dates for the return to racing, depending on how Europe recovers from the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic Three possibilities have emerged.

The idea of holding the Tour de France on the planned June 27-July 19 dates has likely been abandoned "behind closed doors" somehow, and UCI Vice President Renato Di Rocco has made it clear that July 1, July 15, and August 1 are the starting dates for the post-coronavirus calendar. dates are being considered for the start of the post-coronavirus calendar.

However, a return to the race will come only after the number of Covid-19 cases has dramatically decreased, countries have been freed from the blockade, and life has begun to return to normal.

UCI President David Lapartient recently stated that "we will try to protect what makes our sport rich: the Grand Tours and monuments for both men and women," and that the sport's biggest race may take precedence over other races scheduled later in the season He suggested that.

Di Rocco explained that riders will be given 30 days to train for their return to racing, with the possibility of minor races being held in preparation for the Tour de France. Athletes from France, Italy, and Spain have been forced to train indoors in recent weeks, while Britain, Belgium, and other countries have adopted more permissive national rules, and it has been noted that this difference could lead to a two-speed Tour when racing resumes.

Teams have indicated their intention to race a triple program later in the season, but there are concerns about the freedom of movement of athletes and staff across Europe and the need for quarantine periods for athletes traveling from certain countries with slower pandemic paces.

"We are working under the direction of medical experts, but there are three possibilities.

"We are prepared to move forward or backward, but whatever we do, we will give the players at least a month to get the best training possible."

Since the Tour de France generates 70-80% of the value of team sponsorship each season, the race is seen as crucial for the team's survival and to strengthen support from its backers. Di Rocco predicts that the Grand Tour will be held every month in the summer, with other stage and classic races around it.

Last week, Cycling News indicated that the Giro d'Italia will probably be held in early October, with a classic race each weekend from the end of the Tour de France through September, and the Vuelta a España on the original dates of August 14 to September 6 which is the new calendar possibility. The European Road Race Championships will be held in Trento, Italy, from September 9-13, and the UCI has already announced that the racing season may be extended to November 1.

"Tour de France organizers have said they will hold off on a decision until May 15, but the best solution would be to hold a Grand Tour every month. Cycling must resume with the biggest and most important race," Di Rocco said.

On Tuesday, the UCI and local organizers angered some officials by finalizing the dates for the world road race championships, which will be held in Switzerland near the UCI headquarters in Aigle. This was seen as a move to give priority to the organizers of the world championships and protect television rights revenues.

The elite men's time trial will be held on Sunday, September 20, with the other events taking place the following week. Richard Plug, Jumbo Visma's team manager, suggested on Twitter that the weekend of September 20 should move the elite men's time trial to midweek and replace it with a mixed team time trial event for "serious organizers."

"Many organizers, teams, and riders are very unsure if there will be a race in the coming months. And before it is discussed with anyone, the UCI will throw out the World Championships program," Plug told Dutch radio station NPO1.

"I feel like they're saying, 'We already take those two weekends before we give the other riders a chance to compete.' That is a bad signal to the rest of the cycling world and speaks to a lack of leadership."

Prag believes that the September 19-20 weekend should be available for the major classics postponed from the spring.

"For example, the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo are monuments that La Partiente says should be protected. If he really believes that, he should protect those weekends. 'Right now everything is up in the air. LaPartiento is always talking about the 'cycling family. He should think more about that family."