Already delayed, the Tour de France sets off Saturday shrouded in uncertainty, flying in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and the imponderable question of how many of the 176 riders will avoid infection and endure three exceptionally tough weeks of racing to reach the finish in Paris.
If the rolling roadshow gets that far.
Staging cycling’s premier race when COVID-19 infections are rising again in France represents both a health risk and an embodiment of French President Emmanuel Macron’s insistence that the country must learn to function as normally as possible with the virus.
Failure to safely steer the Tour to the cobbles of Paris’ Champs-Elysées avenue on Sept. 20 could cast further doubt on the feasibility of holding other sporting mega-events, including the Tokyo Olympics postponed to next year, while the coronavirus remains untamed. A key question posed by pushing ahead with the race will be whether it would have been wiser and safer to simply cancel it.
“Is the Tour adding to the human community experience this year? Or hurting it? That’s what needs answering,” Jonathan Vaughters, boss of the EF Education First team, told The Associated Press. “If we choose to take on the risk of living life, then I suppose we might have to take the risk of letting events go forward that make life worth living, like the Tour. Is that responsible for the community at large? I think there are many opinions. Many.” (France24)
