Cycling could be in a catastrophic situation, according to the previous Tour winner

Riis, who triumphed at the French circuit in 1996, hopes that road fights could take place again in the second half of the year, but also stressed that the spread of the infection could even lead to further postponements and cancellations, with unpredictable consequences.

The Paris-Nice race, shortened by the pandemic in March, was the last elite road race to be held, and there will certainly be no more races until early August.

"It is extremely important to have competitions again, and the importance of the Tour de France is particularly important," said Riis, a 56-year-old Danish man who is the team leader and co-owner of one of the world's 19 stables, NTT. . "It's the most important battle, the competition that puts the sport at the forefront."

Earlier, a Belgian economist pointed out that the media value of the Tour de France accounts for about 60 percent of the economic profits of the entire cycling season.

Of the three-week races, the Tour de France is scheduled to run from August 29 to September 20, the Giro d’Italia could be held from the first weekend of October, according to previous media reports, while the Vuelta, shortened from 21 to 18 stages, can take place from 1 November. The International Federation of Sports (UCI) is expected to publish a redesigned race calendar next week.

“I believe there is room for all three Grand Tour events this year, although there will no doubt be an extremely hectic season,” Riis expressed his hopes. He added, however, that their failure would be a huge blow.

(Source: Source: sportrajongo.hu, mti / Photo: pixabay)