The UCI has announced that the 2020 Tour de France will begin a week earlier than usual. Departing on Saturday 27th June and finishing on Sunday 19th July, riders will then have just under a week to recover and make their way to Tokyo. With the Olympic road race scheduled for 25th July, the change avoids a direct clash, yet still leaves little time for riders to acclimatise.
‘Due to the Tokyo Olympic Games taking place from 24th July to 9th August 2020, the dates of several events have been adapted, as is the case every four years, so that they do not take place during the Games,' explained the UCI in a statement.
‘Accordingly, the UCI WorldTour will see the Tour de France begin one week before its traditional date, and the Tour de Pologne will take place in July instead of August as in previous years. Similarly, the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic will be organised slightly later than usual, after the Olympic Games.'
Tokyo 2020
Taking place around the lower slopes of the famous Mount Fuji, at 234 kilometres long, the men's Olympic course includes 4,865 metres of climbing. With just six days between one race and the next, and the average flight taking around 12 hours to reach Tokyo from Paris, many riders will still be looking to choose between the two races.
Whether this means skipping the Tour entirely or finding an excuse to nip home early, it’s likely a reduced number of big-name riders will make it to the Champs-Élysées.
Well suited to the parcours, Alejandro Valverde, who won last year’s World Championship on a similarly long and hilly course, is determined to make an attempt on the gold medal the last act of his long career.
For riders not at the current Tour de France, the test event on the Olympic road race course taking place on 21st July will be an attractive opportunity for some reconnaissance. The appearance of any big names at the UCI 1.2 rated Asia Tour race could well indicate who has their heart set on Olympic glory.