Tour de France to start Aug. 29, end Sept. 20

PARIS — With the Tour de France pushed back to a late August start, race director Christian Prudhomme is hoping cycling’s showcase event can help bring back a sense of normality to a nation reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Organizers on Wednesday announced new dates of Aug. 29-Sept. 20 for the race, a day after it was postponed. And Prudhomme remains optimistic the three-week event will be able to feature its usual scenes of thousands of fans packed along the route each day.

“Lots of people smiling, getting back to the lives we love,” Prudhomme told the Associated Press in a phone interview. “Usually, we like to complain and moan about things. Then, when they’re gone we realize what we’re missing. The Tour de France will likely be the first big sporting event of 2020. So there will be fervor and enthusiasm.”

Prudhomme said organizers opted against having the start in early August, saying it was wiser to push back “as far away as possible from the pandemic” in the hope social distancing restrictions will have eased.

While there is a gaping hole in the global sporting calendar for the coming months, the schedule in France suddenly is looking very busy.

The start of the Tour in Nice overlaps with the end of the European Athletics Championships, which still are set to be held in Paris from Aug. 25-30. The Tour then ends on Paris’ famed Champs-Elysees on the same day the rescheduled French Open tennis tournament starts a few miles away at Roland Garros.

“A magnificent Indian Summer,” Prudhomme said.

A cooler one than Tour riders are used to, as well. The temperatures in September aren’t likely to be as hot as in July, meaning riders might have a bit more energy on those tough mountain climbs.

“Of course, that’s totally possible, because in mid-September there won’t be a heatwave up in the Alps,” Prudhomme said.

The Tour was set to start June 27, but those plans were scrapped Tuesday because of coronavirus restrictions. The International Cycling Union also said the Giro d’Italia and the Spanish Vuelta, cycling’s two other Grand Tours, will take place after the French race.

“The Tour has never started later than July 13 since (it began) in 1903,” Prudhomme said.

British rider Geraint Thomas, the 2018 champion, said it is crucial for cycling its flagship event is able to take place.

“A big reason why a lot of the teams are in the sport is because of the Tour, because of the coverage you get from it. It’s so big,” Thomas told the AP. “The fact that it’s got a good chance of going ahead is great news.”

The UCI also announced that the dates for the world championships still will take place Sept. 20-27. That will be followed by the Giro, initially scheduled for May, and the Spanish Vuelta, which is also owned by ASO and had been set to run from Aug. 14-Sept. 6.

No official new dates have been given for those two races.