Paris (AFP)
Two months before the big start set for August 29 in Nice, the next Tour de France will be "unique and singular", in the opinion of its director Christian Prudhomme who returned for AFP on the issues raised by the postponement of two months decided because of the pandemic.
QUESTION: What will this two-month postponement change?
ANSWER: "It will be a unique Tour, since it has never started so late, formally in the summer but outside the holiday period. A singular Tour, there will be real sympathetic questions in relation to the riders whose way of preparing will necessarily be different this year. It will a priori be less hot, there will probably be more wind. On the side of the roads, we can expect that there will probably be less people but the party will be there, respecting sanitary measures. "
Q: What have you decided in terms of health?
A: "From the start, we have been in contact with public authorities, and with sports authorities. I was also struck by the unity of the cycling world and the listening of the authorities. There was little communication in March and in April, apart from the announcement of the postponement dates, because I thought it was incongruous that we were talking about sport at that time. But we have worked and we continue to do so. "
Q: When will we know more?
A: "The situation is changing from day to day. The specifications will be defined in the period from the end of July to the beginning of August. What we can say is that there will be a race with the best riders. The advertising caravan will have around a hundred vehicles, up to around 60% compared to previous years. The economic crisis is affecting the various business sectors. "
Q: What about other measures?
A: "There will surely be no kisses or hugs during the official ceremonies. And one might think that it is certainly not the best year to collect autographs. The public will be able to come to the Tour but there will probably have a more or less severe filtering. In the passes, we will favor those who go up on foot, by bike or in the transport set up by the communities. But, I repeat, the situation is changing from day to day. will it be in two months? "
Q: Will the Dauphiné (August 12 to 16) serve as a dress rehearsal?
A: "The sanitary measures will be applied on the Dauphiné. As on the other races of the calendar."
Q: What do you plan to do during the initially scheduled period of the Tour de France (June 27 to July 19)?
A: "We want to highlight more than ever our support for the daily bicycle, which does good to health, which does not pollute. We are going to help the Secours Populaire with which we have been working since 2008. We will also go up with Emmaüs an operation to collect used bikes and repair them, with communities. There is a third component with Qhubeka, to provide bikes to kids in townships in South Africa. For my part, I will go on several stages du Tour on the initial dates, to respond to elected officials and the media. "
Q: Is it an organizational challenge?
A: "The specificity of the organization is to adapt. We started to take up the challenge by obtaining the approval of all the elected representatives concerned. What I heard most often is + the Tour will be always the Tour +. It was fascinating! Sportingly and mediatically, the Tour is the same. However, we had patches to install, because we could not take the exact same route in September. In Lyon, for example , we have three kilometers less on the stage, the Ascent of Fourvière less. But it's on the fringes! "
Interview by Jean MONTOIS
© 2020 AFP