THE SHOW MOST SHOW ON
“The team have taken over the whole hotel for altitude training; no guests are allowed. We’re also divided into bubbles and have had Covid tests. We’ve never had a season like it.” That’s Nicolas Roche of Team Sunweb, who, unless a coronavirus second wave floods Europe, will line up in Nice on 29 August for his 10th Tour de France.
Since its inception in 1903, only the two world wars have caused the cancellation of the race and this year’s two-month postponement, from late June to late August, is a first. There’s been no end to the discussion of the ramifications of this unique situation. How will riders cope with the lack of competition? What measures are in place to identify and then isolate potential Covid carriers? And what will happen if the race leader is showing symptoms just one day before Paris? We trawled the teams and UCI - from a distance of course - to find some answers.
Bubble boys
On 15 June, the first etchings of what the 2020 Tour will look like came in the form of a UCI document entitled ‘Procedures to be followed for the reopening of the road cycling season in the context of the coronavirus pandemic’. This, at least up until the end of 2020, will be every team’s medical roadmap.
Inside you’ll discover such guidelines as a colour-coded
