French President Emmanuel Macron has said the lock-down measures in the country are being extended until May 11th and he has ruled out major public gatherings, such as festivals, until mid July.
The extension of the lock-down measures came as no surprise and is only six days longer than the Irish Government’s lock-down extension announced late last week.
However, news that no major gatherings will be permitted
until mid July was a sobering announcement and one that throws the remainder of
the French racing season into doubt.
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The Tour de France, which is crucial to pro cycling and
is the main reason many sponsors target the sport, was due to begin on June 27th
until July 19th; having been brought forward a week to avoid a clash with the
Olympics.
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It was always expected, since the Covid19 outbreak began, that the Tour would be postponed but it now seems any start time in July may be unlikely.
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Macron’s announcement in Paris on Monday night throws into real doubt the tentative plan that was being put in place to hold the Tour exactly one month later than scheduled, though that plan is still not impossible.
ASO, which owns the Tour, also owns Criterium du
Dauphine, a key Tour warm-up race that was set for the week of May 31st to June
7th.
That race was already thrown off its schedule by the UCI
saying no racing could take place until after June 1st at the earliest.
But the fact no public gatherings can be held in France
until mid July at the earliest means the Dauphine faces little prospect of
going ahead. Or, if it does, the Tour de France would be pushed back to start sometime
in mid to late August.
ASO could simply abandon the Dauphine for this year and
hope to secure the earliest slot possible after mid July to hold the Tour.
In that case, the Giro and Vuelta would, at very best,
take place into the autumn or even early winter.
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