Paris (AFP)

The Covid-19 was right for the second time in Paris-Roubaix: the "queen of classics" cyclists, which was scheduled for April 11, was postponed to October 3 due to the health situation.

Only of the five "monuments" of the cycling season to have been canceled in 2020, Paris-Roubaix should take place this year, but in early fall, a week after the world championship scheduled in Belgium.

Last year, the test had already been postponed to the fall before being withdrawn from the program because of the worsening pandemic.

"It was inconceivable that there would not be Paris-Roubaix for the second time in two years," Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme, who also organizes Paris-Roubaix, told AFP.

The new race dates, since for the first time the men's race created in 1896 will have a female version, could be announced by the International Cycling Union (UCI): Saturday October 2 for women, Sunday October 3 for men.

The hypothesis of a postponement or a cancellation had taken shape at the beginning of last week when the prefect of Hauts-de-France Michel Lalande had publicly mentioned it.

In the continuity of the turn of the screw decided on Wednesday by the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, in view of the health situation, the prefect decided on Thursday, ten days before the meeting which was to be launched in Compiègne (Oise), a traditional place departure.

ASO (Amaury Sport Organization), which organizes Paris-Roubaix like most of the major French cycling races, drew the consequences of the situation after considering adapting and modifying the route somewhat.

- "Visceral attachment" -

"We had a meeting on the ground with the security forces to see if we could organize Paris-Roubaix with two, three sectors less," explained Christian Prudhomme.

"I would like to thank the mayor of Wallers who was ready, even if it tore his heart, he told me, not to go through the Arenberg gap if that would save Paris-Roubaix".

"These arrangements were not considered sufficient", added the director of the Tour who praised the "visceral attachment" of the region to the race: "There is a real pride of the people of Hauts-de-France towards their event, the biggest one-day race. When I travel the world, it's the only one I hear about, of course the Tour de France. "

In the 2021 cycling calendar, Paris-Roubaix is ​​the only one of the five “monuments” of the season to have to be postponed.

The first, Milan-Sanremo, took place on March 20 although the start was given in the heart of the Lombard capital classified as a red zone.

The second, the Tour of Flanders, remains scheduled for Sunday between Antwerp and Oudenaarde, like the other Belgian classics which have so far been organized behind closed doors.

The report was qualified by AFP as a "failure" by Luc Foutry, president of the community of municipalities of Pévèle Carembault (North), in the heart of the cobbled sectors: "We are not able to 'organize a world-famous event, while our Belgian neighbors can, with races behind closed doors ... "

"We are told of October 3 as the postponement date. But last year, we were given the same blow", added the local elected who said he was "skeptical": "Let us hope that the vaccination campaign us allows us to organize this race. Until then, our restaurants and bars will be reopened for this beautiful popular festival. "

Since the first edition at the end of the 19th century, only the two world wars got the better of Paris-Roubaix, between 1915 and 1918 then between 1940 and 1942 before the Covid-19 did its work.

© 2021 AFP