The Tour de France 2020 should have started in Nice this Saturday but – coronavirus obliges – the Grand Départ of the Grande Boucle has been postponed for two months (08/27 – 09/20).
No caravan, no Tour de France village or riders in the streets of Nice this Saturday but many signs that we are impatiently awaiting the peloton. Trams plastered in the colors of the Grande Boucle and the banners that celebrate the Grand Départ color the city center of Nice while the future protagonists of the race stroll around Nice and its surroundings 63 days before the long-awaited departure.
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What time is the departure?
– Dans la Musette (@DansLaMusette) June 27, 2020
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This shift in dates will make this Tour “unique and singular”, says the patron of the Tour de France Christian Prudhomme. “Never has he left so late, formally in the summer but outside of the holiday period. There will be real sympathetic questions.”
These are multiple and of all kinds. The weather will no doubt be a factor. The runners have already escaped the 30 ° C forecast for Nice this weekend and will encounter milder temperatures in September (18 ° average versus 23 ° in 2019). Christian Prudhomme also expects “more wind “, an increasingly decisive climatic element in the hunting for Grands Tours.
Weather, shorter days, uncertain or in any case reduced public presence, advertising caravan thinner due to the economic crisis. The traditional landmarks that accompanied the peloton will be distorted but “the party will be there” promises Prudhomme.
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Sportingly, the leap into the unknown will no doubt be less deep than expected. Inequalities between countries due to containment rules have gradually been erased by time. The need for certainty for the riders was quickly satisfied by the implementation of a calendar – admittedly controversial – which allowed them to see more clearly in the preparation of the different teams.
Sporting, economic requirements and favorable calendar: the teams overwhelmingly decided to bet their best pawns on the Tour de France. La Grande Boucle is a must and ASO can rub your hands.
Despite the few benchmarks they will be able to take in Italy (Strade Bianche, Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Lombardy) or in France (Route d’Occitane, Tour de l’Ain, Critérium du Dauphiné) during the month August, the contenders for the final victory should all be at their peak at a time of the year when the bodies are usually tired.
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The team to beat remains always the same. Team Ineos (ex-Sky) has won 7 of the last 8 editions of the Tour and has put on its 31 again to extend its series. Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas will be there. Chris Froome also… but perhaps in the jersey of the Israel Start-Up Nation.
Tensions exist on the British side and l’équipe Jumbo-Visma is ready to revive them. Primoz Roglic is already in shape and showed it at the Slovenian Championships last week. Tom Dumoulin is still looking for himself after his injury but is again expected at the highest level. Third last year, Steven Kruijswijk will play the luxury lieutenants with a George Bennett very effective in the mountains.
Less dense in climbers, the other teams can also knock down weight cards for the final victory. Nairo Quintana impressed at the start of the season with its new Arkea-Samsic colors, Thibaut Pinot is over-motivated after last year’s disillusionment and the young Tadej Pogacar can count on the talent, youth and help of a Fabio Aru who hopes to return to its best level.
In short, all the elements are brought together for a great show. We just have to wait!
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