Tour de France postponed as major sports events get canceled and delayed amid pandemic

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claudio.arnese/iStock(NEW YORK) — The world’s top cyclists will wait to compete for the yellow jersey after race organizers announced the Tour de France will be moved to August.”Following the President’s address on Monday evening, where large-scale events were banned in France until mid-July as a part of the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the [organizers] of the Tour de France, in agreement with the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), have decided to postpone the Tour de France to Saturday 29th August to Sunday 20th September 2020,” the Tour announced in a press release on Wednesday.The famed men’s multi-stage bicycle race, which is primarily held in France with occasional passes through nearby countries, was initially scheduled from June 27 to July 19.As countries around the world work to slow the spread of coronavirus, the health emergency has forced changes to major sporting events amid the uncertainty due to the disease.The Tour de France will follow the same route, with no changes, from Nice to Paris.”Over the last few weeks, there has been constant communication between riders, teams, the organisers as well as other relevant third parties all with the support of the UCI, who are responsible for arranging a new global cycling schedule, in which the Tour de France takes pride of place,” race event organizers said. Copyright © 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.