INTERNATIONAL Cycling Union (UCI) president David Lappartient has said that it would be a “disaster” for cycling if the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France cannot take place due to the spread of the Covid-19 in Europe.
Giro organizer RCS Sport has already been compelled to postpone Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo and the Giro di Sicilia, and all sporting events in the country have now been suspended until April 3 after the Italian government enacted stricter measures to combat the spread of the virus.
The measures raise questions about the feasibility of the 2020 Giro, which is scheduled to get underway a little over a month later. The Grande Partenza is fixed for May 9 in Budapest, with the race’s first stage on Italian roads due on May 12, when the caravan arrives in Sicily. The route then travels northwards ahead of the finish in Milan on May 31.
“That would be a disaster for our sport, of course, if we can’t have the Giro d’Italia or the Tour de France,” Lappartient told Reuters.
The Frenchman conceded that the tight time line means that the Giro is at risk, but he expressed greater optimism that the worst of the crisis might have passed ahead of the Tour de France, which, this year, gets under way a week earlier than normal due to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Grand Départ is fixed for June 27 in Nice.
“Maybe the gap of two months in between will have also some consequences on the virus. Maybe in summer we hope so, that it will, after the summit of the peak, decrease,” Lappartient said. “So we hope that these races will be able to take place. But we are, due to the situation in Italy, a little more worried today with the situation with the Giro d’Italia.
“We know what the decision from the Italian government is until April 3, but who knows what will be the situation after. So there is a potential risk that the Giro can be canceled,” he added.
CYCLING CLASSIC AT RISK
Paris-Nice, which is organized by Tour owner ASO, is currently taking place despite the growing number of cases in France—1,412 as of Monday afternoon—and despite the withdrawal of seven WorldTour teams beforehand.
In response to the French government’s prohibition on public gatherings of over 1,000 people, ASO has blocked the start and finish of stages to the public.
“As long as they say it is safe for the wider public, we see no need not to race. But I fear that could all change in a matter of days,” Trek-Segafredo Sports Director Steven de Jongh said.
After Paris-Nice, the focus will shift to the cobbled Classics. Belgium, thus far, has 267 recorded cases of coronavirus and the Belgian government security council is set to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss its response to the virus. Flanders Classics CEO Tomas van den Spiegel nonetheless evinced optimism that the races could proceed.
“There is a feeling that we are managing the coronavirus crisis well as a country,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “But, of course, we are working on it.
“Together with virologist Marc van Ranst, we have compiled a list of measures to protect both riders and the public. We must be ready to implement the measures if necessary. Although, of course, we do not know how the situation will evolve.”
The start of the 2020 Giro, meanwhile, is now just 60 days away, but Race Director Mauro Vegni is reluctant to countenance the prospect of the corsa rosa being canceled for the first time since 1945.
“Canceling the Giro would create a very complicated situation not only for cycling and for sport, but for the whole country,” Vegni said, according to Sporza. “I don’t even want to think about such an eventuality. The damage would be truly immense.”
TOUR DE NORMANDIE CALLED OFF
TOUR de Normandie organizers have canceled the 2.2 category stage race that was scheduled for March 23 to 27 in light of the French government’s decree banning.
The French government prohibited public gatherings of more than 1,000 people, when confirmed cases of Covid-19 neared 1,500. In response, Paris-Nice organizer ASO blocked the start and finish of stages to the public, but the WorldTour race is continuing, gatherings of more than 1,000 people to fight the spread of the Covid-19.
“Cycling is a popular sport,” organizers said in a statement posted on the official race web site. “The Tour de Normandie is a popular festival, and must remain so. The whole world is experiencing an unprecedented situation which, makes us, the volunteer organizers of the Tour de Normandie, helpless.
CAPE EPIC ON AS SCHEDULED
THE 2020 Cape Epic is keeping abreast of health warnings, yet South Africa has not seen anything like the extreme public gathering constraints applied in Europe.
“We are monitoring the situation with public health officials and authorities, including the South Africa Department of Health. At this stage, the Western Cape government does not propose altering arrangements for public events, and therefore we will be proceeding with the Cape Epic as planned.”
Whereas Italy is now virtually in lockdown, South Africa has only experienced a few coronavirus infections.
The Cape Epic is scheduled to start this coming Sunday and organisers are mindful of the event’s diversity of riders. With many competitors flying in from Europe, Cape Epic race directors have reminded riders to apply the highest levels of personal hygiene in their home countries and when they are present at the event.
In the very unlikely scenario that the 2020 Cape Epic is called off, teams will forego their entry fees, as per the event’s standing rule on refunds due to a total race cancellation.
Riders from outside South Africa are reminded to familiarize themselves with travel restrictions from their country of origins.
There have been seven confirmed Covid-19 cases in South Africa from people returning from a ski trip in Italy—but the cases are in KwaZulu-Natal on the eastern side of the country far away from the Western Cape region, where the Cape Epic is held. The Western Cape has not had any coronavirus cases. As such, the local government has not felt compelled to institute any severe policies which could disrupt the race. Cyclingnews