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Rescheduled Tour de France hoping to make nation smile again

Tour organizers on Wednesday announced new dates of Aug. 29-Sept. 20 for the race

Credit: AP Photo/Ivan Valencia

Fans celebrate as they watch a giant screen broadcasting live Egan Bernal winning the final stage of the Tour de France, in his hometown of Zipaquira, Colombia, Sunday, July 28, 2019. Bernal became the first Colombian cyclist to win the cycling's biggest race.

PARIS, France — With the Tour de France pushed back to a late August start, race director Christian Prudhomme is hoping cycling’s showcase event can help bring back a sense of normality to a nation reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Tour organizers on Wednesday announced new dates of Aug. 29-Sept. 20 for the race. And Prudhomme is still optimistic that the three-week event will be able to feature its usual scenes of thousands of fans packed along the route each day.

He said it will show "lots of people smiling, getting back to the lives we love. The Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Vuelta are set to take place after the Tour.

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