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An intense late summer is waiting for cycling professionals. Image: KEYSTONE
Giro, Vuelta and Paris-Roubaix in one day: the new cycling calendar raises questions
Cycling professionals face an eventful fall, even if the crown pandemic even allows the season to restart. The UCI World Association’s revised racing calendar is like a gigantic program.
Because only six World Tour events, including the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de Romandie, preferred a cancellation to a postponement, the UCI faced the Herculean task of packing practically the entire cycling season in three months. A tight schedule was created from August through early November, accommodating the three major national tours, the top five classics, the World Road Championship and many other World Tour races.
Therefore, there was inevitable overlap. The end of the Giro d’Italia (from October 3 to 25) overlaps with the start of the tour of Spain, which has been shortened to 18 stages (from October 20 to November 5). Special attention is paid to October 25. The final stage of the Giro, a section of the Vuelta and the classic Pavé Paris-Roubaix will take place simultaneously this Sunday. Also in October, in competition with a Grand Tour, the monuments of Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of Lombardy are planned.
Paris-Roubaix or a big tour? It is not possible either. Image: EPA
Continues in early August
The restart of the World Tour season, which has been interrupted since mid-March, is scheduled for August 1 with Italian semi-classic Strade Bianchi. The first major event after the multi-month break is the classic Milan-San Remo on August 8.
On Tuesday, the UCI also confirmed the date of the France tour, which was originally scheduled two months earlier and is of vital importance to the cycling scene. However, for a scheduled start on August 29 in Nice, there are a few hurdles to overcome, as events with more than 5,000 people are not allowed in France until the end of August.
The UCI held the date of the World Road Championships in Aigle and Martigny (September 20-27). This means that the World Cup time trial overlaps with the end of the Tour de France. This becomes a problem especially for drivers like Stefan Küng.
Stefan Küng will have to choose between the Tour de France and the World Cup. Image: KEYSTONE
Driver confusion
Last year’s bronze medalist in the World Cup road race speaks of “light at the end of the tunnel” when he should finally start again. However, he also expressed concern regarding the new calendar: “For me, the question arises: ‘Can all this happen this way? And does it make sense to make up for all these races? ”Küng is confident that commitments are required from all sides. “Whoever can best handle this will end up being a winner.”
The numerous overlaps will undoubtedly mean that not all major races can draw on the participants’ usual strong field. For example, there are only 72 days between the start of the first three-week tour (Tour de France) and the end of the third (Tour).
More about corona virus in sports:
At the moment, it is not certain that the races will be held this year, especially since, unlike other sports, cycling is in a much larger radius. More than 3,000 km are covered during the Tour de France alone. Hotels and surroundings change daily. It doesn’t take long, and the construction begins to collapse before the full fall begins to roll. Much will depend on how the pandemic develops in the coming weeks. (dab / sda)
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