One of Europe’s most legendary celebration, the Tour de France, is in question immediately after the race’s beginning region, the Alpes-Maritimes, was set on red notify.
The Guardian’s Jeremy Whittle studies that tensions bordering the race ramped up even further nonetheless on Thursday night immediately after the Lotto-Soudal workforce announced two of their team’s guidance employees has tested “non-negative” for Covid-19 and experienced been sent residence from Pleasant. “Safety continues to be priority quantity one,” the statement browse.
“Only world wars have stopped the Tour de France,” the Tour director, Christian Prudhomme, claimed in March this calendar year, but the swiftly rising problems over the wisdom of likely forward with this year’s race led to a cross-examination of the primary minister, Jean Castex, by journalists on Thursday.
“We have taken a lot of precautions and overall health protocols and I’d remind you that this is an open-air occasion,” Castex stated. “The places where by the virus spreads and there is transmission have no organisation. The Tour has an organiser.”
Confirming that Wonderful was one of 19 new regions to be placed below purple notify, Castex said that “the pandemic is regaining floor and now’s the time to intervene”, including: “France need to do all the things to protect against a new lockdown.”
With uncertainty more than race gripping the Grand Départ bubble of riders, some teams have hinted they will race working day by day, though other folks have insisted it will not adjust their extended-term ways.
“We never have a strategic prepare to be in the direct in scenario the race stops right after a person and a 50 % weeks,” Tom Dumoulin, previous Giro d’Italia champion, and teammate to Primoz Roglic, reported.
On Thursday France claimed its second-maximum amount of scenarios ever and a new publish-lockdown high, with 6,111 conditions. The greatest day-to-day total of 7,578 was established on 30 March.
You can examine Jeremy’s entire report on the Tour under.
