The extension through mid-July of a ban on mass gatherings in France amid the novel coronavirus pandemic has forced the postponement of the Tour de France and jeopardized Formula One’s French Grand Prix.
The Tour, the biggest race in cycling, was scheduled to begin June 27 in Nice and end July 19 in Paris. The F1 race was scheduled for June 28 near Marseille.
“Given that it’s now impossible that the Tour starts at its planned date, we are consulting with the [International Cycling Union] to try to find new dates,” organizers said Tuesday.
The Tour was last called off in 1946, when France was still recovering from World War II. It also did not take place during World War I. One option is to cancel the race outright this year, but organizers hope to find a later date, and they are not likely to favor staging the race without the thousands of fans who line the roadsides. Egan Bernal won last year’s Tour de France.
The Giro d’Italia earlier was called off along with the Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix single-day races. The ICU furloughed staff and cut its leaders’ salaries this month, with officials citing the postponement of the Olympics and Paralympics as well as losing most of its events.
F1 officials continue to look for ways to rework the schedule, hoping to start it in Europe in the summer, and they have not ruled out holding some races without spectators. Ross Brawn, F1′s managing director, said he believed a season could be held even if the first race is not held until October. That could push the season into January.
Like other sports, F1 is feeling the financial pinch as income from broadcast rights, sponsorships and race-hosting fees is cut off. Only the Monaco Grand Prix has been canceled outright.
Last month, French Open officials moved the Grand Slam tennis event from May to September.
