Madrid (AFP)
The arrival of the 6th stage of the Tour of Spain at the Col du Tourmalet, scheduled for Sunday, is canceled due to the decisions of the French government in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, announced Thursday the organization of the Vuelta which gives up crossing French territory.
"Given the state of health emergency decreed in France and the general restrictions established by its national government (...), the Vuelta will not be able to conclude its 6th stage at the Col du Tourmalet next Sunday 25 October", indicates in a press release Unipublic, the subsidiary of ASO which organizes the Tour of Spain.
"Unipublic, in agreement with the prefectures of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées, has decided to modify the initial configuration of the stage", specifies the organizer.
The two French departments, whose peloton was to take the roads, are among 38 new departments where the curfew will be extended Friday evening, the government announced Thursday.
The 6th stage, which was to be the queen stage of this Vuelta, for which Primoz Roglic is the red jersey, still starts from Biescas in the Aragonese Pyrenees but, rather than reaching France via the Portalet pass before continuing with the Aubisque to join the Tourmalet, it now ends at the Aramon Formigal ski resort.
Before this final climb classified in 1st category, two other climbs are on the program: the Alto de Petralba (3rd category) and the Alto de Cotefablo (2nd) for 146 kilometers in total.
The day before, the Giro had also already announced a change of course, Saturday, for its 20th and penultimate stage which was to pass through France before arriving in Sestriere.
"The authorization which had been granted to us for the passage of the race by the prefecture in France was withdrawn", indicated the director of the Tour of Italy Mauro Vegni
© 2020 AFP