Thibaut Pinot on the roads of the last tour of France, July 24, 2019. – Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP
Emmanuel Macron’s announcement of the start of deconfinement on May 11 and a ban on all events that bring the public together until mid-July, potentially opens the way to a gradual resumption of the national football championships and rugby, possibly behind closed doors at first, and a possible postponement of the Tour de France cycling race for a month. 20 minutes takes stock of how the recovery could take shape.
A start of the Tour de France for the end of July?
Emmanuel Macron having announced that “events with a large audience” were prohibited “at least until mid-July”, the maintenance of the scheduled dates (June 27-July 19) of the Tour de France seems de facto impossible.
Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) was already working on a one-month postponement of the Great Loop. With in mind the fact that an outright cancellation of the test would open “the possibility of an economic collapse of the sector”, in the words of Jean-François Mignot, researcher at CNRS. The possibility of a Great Loop without public being unrealistic, an announcement by the organizers of a move from his departure to July 25 now seems to hold the rope. “It is up to the organizers to analyze their capacity to organize this, to report it. These are the organizers who will contact the Ministry of Health and who will make the right decision, “said Minister of the Interior Castaner about the cycling event.
???? Declared / ???????? @romainbardet (A2R) # COVID19 : “The Tour de France is the public, it is the fervor, it is the popular festival. The camera would have distorted the race. It would not have been, in my opinion, a true Tour de France. ” (source: L’Equipe)
– Cycling Chronicle (@ChroniqueDuVelo) April 4, 2020
It seems however to risk to count on a massive presence of the public at the edge of the roads in such a short time, even when Christian Prudhomme confided a few days ago that he did not envisage a Tour de France without spectators. Not to mention that it will have to do with the probable closure of the borders of the Schengen area “until further notice”, and therefore the theoretical impossibility for many foreign riders to travel to France.
The Vuelta, whose departure is scheduled for August 14, should in this case operate a shift in the calendar, but the cycling authorities all seem to agree that it is first necessary to save the diamonds of the princess before the rest.
“The Tour de France is the keystone of the system but it is the whole cycling industry, the small organizers, the smaller teams and riders, the management staff who find themselves in danger,” explains Marc Madiot , in The Parisian. It’s good if the Tour can take place, even later, but I don’t forget the whole pyramid. We will have to start a real preparation race to be ready for the Tour de France. Foreigners can train outdoors, but our French runners risk staying stationary for two months. We must send a note to the department on this subject. “
Ligue 1 every three days from June 17 (and without spectators)?
For football, the presidential announcement suggests two hypotheses: a resumption of the championship only in mid-July, or a return to the pitch more advanced, but behind closed doors. The latter hypothesis, already considered by the Professional Football League (LFP) at the start of the epidemic, would be less harm for clubs who could touch the television rights currently frozen by broadcasters. But would no doubt revolt the supporters, who already castigated this possibility on Monday in a press release co-signed by 45 fan groups.
Press release from the French platforms co-signed by 45 groups of supporters, including many member groups of the ANS. pic.twitter.com/nTudNxmQ6I
– Asso.Nat.Supporters (@A_N_Supporters) April 13, 2020
The players in football, still predominantly determined to end the season, can hope to achieve this in the event of a start starting May 11. Indeed, they have counted, according to sources familiar with the matter, on an end of season “end of July” allowing to start the next one on August 23 while leaving a few weeks of off-season to compete in the L1 / L2 barrages and the end of European competitions.
However, in this scenario, it would be advisable to resume the matches in mid-June at the latest in order to play the last ten days and on condition that two games are organized per week. If training was allowed as early as May 11, players would have at least four weeks to re-train. Precisely the period of time most often mentioned by the different stakeholders interviewed.
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the LFP has reflected on a recovery schedule from June 17, with matches every three days to end the current season around July 25, to then make way for the various barriers of accession / relegation and then to the Cup Europe in August. The C1 final could also take place after the first day of the 2020/2021 championship, officially postponed to August 23.
According to L’Equipe, the LFP is considering two options for the resumption of Ligue 1. The most likely is a resumption on June 17, with matches that would be linked every three days so that the season ends on July 25.
A possible solution? ???? pic.twitter.com/pzq4ij2ELN
– Goal France ???????? (@GoalFrance) April 13, 2020
Last uncertainty, as for the Tour de France: the continued closure of the borders after May 11 would raise the question of the terms of the return to France of many stars, especially South Americans. Will Neymar be able to find Paris in time, among other things?
A Top 14 final at the end of July in a packed Stade de France?
The National Rugby League (LNR) is supposed to decide in late April what to do with the Top 14 and Pro D2, suspended since March 13. The presidents of the 30 professional clubs have declared themselves in favor of continuing the season. Before Emmanuel Macron’s speech, two scenarios seemed to hold the line: maintaining the Top 14 final on June 26, with a tight schedule, or moving it to July 18.
The first scenario seems difficult: there are nine days left in the regular season before the play-offs, the semi-finals and the final. Or 12 dates to program after the necessary period for resuming training. The second possibility has therefore grown since Monday evening, even if it means imagining a new qualification formula for the final stages, with the illusive carrot of a final in front of 80,000 spectators in Saint-Denis. It would also remain to set the end of the European season, for which three French clubs are committed, but on this plan, we start even further.
