Secrecy and suspense over Tour de France's fate

Less than three months before Tour de France's scheduled start, possibility of cycling's greatest show taking place remains shrouded in doubt, while organisers have thrown up a wall of silence. highlight of French sporting calendar is due to embark from Nice on June 27 and end on Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 19. But with France entering its third week of coronavirus lockdown and more than 3,000 deaths in country, organisers ASO are refusing to comment on ir plans, or than to say y will act in best interests of general public.

"re will be a huge hunger for sports when this is over," ASO chief Christian Prudhomme said in early March. With cycling world desperate to keep 2020 Tour alive, AFP looks at three potential outcomes: 

Cancellation

This seems be least likely scenario. Keeping Tour on track is key to cycling's ecomic wellbeing. Unless lockdown continues well into summer, it would be hard to imagine Tour being cancelled. " Tour represents around 60 percent of earnings in a season," French team AG2R boss Vincent Lavenu said. 2018 champion Geraint Thomas agrees, telling Daily Telegraph this week he feared for people's jobs if Tour was cancelled.

"When you look back through history books in 20 years' time, if in 2020 re was Tour, that doesn't matter. "But, on or hand, re are 20-odd teams, and companies invested in those teams, and if it went, re would be quite a few people left unemployed. "While result itself doesn't matter, event does, because re are a lot of livelihoods wrapped up in it," he said.

Postponement

Unless health crisis takes a turn for better in weeks to come, a postponement is increasingly likely. Most of potential competitors are in lockdown and unable to train rmally, and would clearly prefer to be in full training before taking on gruelling Tour. Unlike all or races, almost every contender likes to arrive at Tour in peak form, and that requires intensive training.

Ineos star Thomas says uncertainty is demotivating. "If you knew that Tour de Suisse (in June) was going to be your next race, you could just work towards that and devise a training programme. But at moment it's all up in air," he said. Ors agree with Thomas. "At latest we'd need guys out on ros training by May 10," boss of French team Arkea-Samsic, Emmanuel Hubert, told AFP. May 10 appears worryingly close given current lockdown in France.

International Cycling Union held a video conference meeting on matter last Friday. postponement of Tokyo Olympics was a huge relief for cycling, as it clears whole autumn period for rescheduled events. d in postponement of Giro d'Italia in May, and it means everyone will want to be at Tour. "If Tour de France does go ahe in full, it'll be best field ever," said Matt White of Australian team Mitchelton-Scott. "With Olympics off cards, it does leave a window for later in July and even early August," White ded. Given re is little visibility on potential length of lockdown from authorities, it is impossible to say, but August would be a fairly popular decision.

original plan

re appears to be solid support for sticking to original dates, even if riders show up below top form. After Euro 2020 and Tokyo Games were postponed, Tour is one of year's last sporting landmarks left standing. Running Tour without fans, as French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu has suggested is possible, would be fine for those watching on television. But it would be financially damaging for ecomies of small town's banking on it. ASO want fans re.

"It's too early to tell if it's possible but it would be a great sign if Tour went ahe on schedule," top French rider Romain Bardet said.

Julian Alaphilippe, France's hero of 2019 Tour after wearing leer's jersey for 14 days, isn't so sure he would want a race without fans at roside. "It wouldn't be Tour without fans," said Alaphilippe. Alaphilippe's position is widely held, as Tour de France is more than a sporting event -- it's a cultural phemen. In sports daily L'Equipe this week, 94-year-old Raphael Geminiani, who raced Tour in 1947, said if race went ahe it could bring France back to life. "This period of confinement will hurt us all morally for some time. We will need a cure for it and a Tour de France would help give us a sense of stability," he said. 

Im credits: AP