The Tour of Spain, which still does not know the exact date of the start of this year's edition, will definitely no longer start from the Netherlands due to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unipublic announced this morning that it has canceled the premiere scheduled for the regions of Utrecht and North Brabant. According to the organizer of the test, work is already underway to resume the project for the official departure of La Vuelta from the Netherlands, setting the starting date for the start of these talks in 2022.

The Dutch government has prohibited the holding of sporting events until next September 1 and the UCI (International Cycling Union) agreed on April 15 that the Tour will be held after the Cycling World Cup and the Giro d'Italia, not on the dates initially scheduled (August 14 - September 6).

"The change in schedule meant a change in the initially planned program. From there, we carefully assessed the situation with our Dutch partners, with whom we have worked in absolute harmony and in a climate of full collaboration; and we all came to the same conclusion : it was impossible to maintain the essence of the project with these new conditions, "explained the general director of Unipublic, Javier Guillén . "It is a complicated decision, which you never want to make, but which we have been faced with due to the complicated circumstances we are experiencing and which exceed any forecast or expectation," he added.

"The start of La Vuelta 20 from Holland was a project that was planned as a great summer party. Given the impossibility of ensuring the development planned for the official start of the race, with all the necessary guarantees for an event of this nature, La Vuelta has preferred to request the cancellation of the official start, "Unipublic stressed today.

Martijn van Hulsteijn , director of the organizing committee of La Vuelta Holanda, added: "It is a pity, a disappointment for everyone. After the UCI statement regarding the reorganization of the cycling calendar, we contacted all parties involved to assess the possibility of organizing an event of this magnitude in autumn (three stages with start, finish and 34 localities of passage) but we concluded that it was too complicated a task. We depend on many infrastructures and there are works already planned for those dates whose delay would have too much impact for cities. "

Jan van Zanen , Mayor of Utrecht - on behalf of all the institutional representatives involved in the project stressed: "Our intention was to celebrate a great Spanish festival, involving all the municipalities, but it is technically impossible for us to carry it out. The uncertainty about the development and evolution of the coronavirus have forced us to make this decision. A big disappointment, but health comes first. "

Unipublic and La Vuelta Holanda are already working on the possibility that the Netherlands will host the official start of the event in the near future. The starting point is that the Dutch country welcomes the start of La Vuelta in 2022, although there is no certainty.

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