The Tour de France, rescheduled for the end of August 2020,
will be preceded by several warm-up races as France lifts its ban on sporting
activities, giving cycling fans something to cheer about.

According to an AFP report, the first race will take place
on the Route d’Occitanie from 1 to 4 August, followed by a one-day mountain
challenge at Mont Ventoux and then the Tour de l’Ain from 7 to 9 August. A
shortened version of the Critérium de Dauphine will take place from 12 to 16
August and it will be followed by the four-day Tour du Limousin from 18 August.

However, the International Cycling Union has warned that
these dates may have to be revised taking into account the health situation in
the country, as a high number of coronavirus positive patients are still being
reported every day.

Originally scheduled for June, the Tour de France – a
cycling race of about 3,500 km – will now start in Nice on 29 August. Cyclists
typically take 20 to 21 days to complete this grueling race. Two-time Tour de
France champion Alberto Contador is the favourite to win the race this year. He
will attempt to beat reigning champion Egan Bernal to win the coveted yellow
jersey.

According to a report on the Cycling News website, many
cycling team managers have stressed how vital the Tour de France is to their
survival. With racing activity having been halted due to the containment
measures imposed in France to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a
number of WorldTour teams, including Mitchelton-Scott, Lotto Soudal, Astana and
Bahrain McLaren, have been forced to introduce pay cuts for riders and other
staff, while other staff have also been furloughed.

Patrick Lefevere, the
boss of the Belgian Deceuninck-QuickStep cycling team which has finished as the
number one team in the world for the last three seasons, was quoted by the
French sports magazine L’Equipe saying: “This is no time for conflict. We
must first think about our survival, and we will all succeed together: the
International Cycling Union (UCI), the teams and the organisers. We are all in
the same boat”.