The Covid-19 epidemic has entailed the cancellation of most of the major sporting events, or their postponement to 2021. The only notable exceptions to this are the major cycling tours, which have been maintained in 2020. For safety reasons first, and then for the sake of equity (as cyclists require at least three months of preparation before competing), they have been rescheduled from the end of August on.
The Tour de France will thus be held from August 29th to September 16th, while the Giro will take place from October 3rd to 25th and the Vuelta from October 20th to November 8th. As for the world road cycling championships, they are now scheduled from September 20th to 27th.
Due to the pandemic, the Giro and the Vuelta have also had to modify their routes. Budapest and Hungary will no longer welcome the great departure of the Giro. To date, the organization is still looking for an alternative, but it has been confirmed that the new route will be 100% Italian. Likewise, the Vuelta which was to launch from Utrecht will finally depart form the Basque Country, and the fifteenth and sixteenth stages which were to pass through Portugal will be relocated to Spain. However, as of today, the Col du Tourmalet is still on the list.
It is therefore a very busy autumn that awaits the cycling world.
This situation is not without generating questions. The weather has to be the most obvious one. Everyone still has in mind the mudslide that precipitated the interruption of the 19th stage of the 2019 Tour de France between St Jean de Maurienne and the Col de l’Iseran. It was in the summertime. What will the mountain climbs planned for September, October and November look like ?
The sequence of events is forcing the riders to make difficult choices. Since the Giro and the Vuelta will now overlap over 5 days, it will not be possible to participate in both competitions. Not to mention the risk of injury due to this tight schedule.
Finally, the logistical challenge is immense. Notably, no less than hundreds of hotel rooms have to be postponed, even though the hotel industries of the countries concerned are now in dire straits. There are seasonal contracts that need to be renewed, and for the broadcasters, entire schedules that need to be redeveloped. Many hoteliers are also faced with the need to reinvent themselves in order to comply with the recommendations to combat contagion.
In this problematic context, VPI stands by your side more than ever to relieve you of the stress of dealing with all these accommodation and rental issues.
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