Serge Arsenault: Cycling needs the Tour de France for survival

Sunweb’s Michael Matthews celebrates his win at the 2019 GP de Québec ahead of Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe, left) and CCC Team’s Greg Van Avermaet (Image credit: Getty Images)

The cycling community received a little more clarity on Wednesday after the UCI announced that it had agreed with the sport's stakeholders to reschedule the Tour de France for August 29 to September 20. The decision came just two days after French President Emmanuel Macron enforced a ban on mass gatherings until at least mid-July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The revised date lands directly on top of North America's last remaining WorldTour races, the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal, which are due to be held on September 11 and 13. In a phone interview with Cyclingnews on Wednesday, race organiser Serge Arsenault said he was prepared to "bite the bullet" because the Tour de France is the only event that could prevent a further collapse in cycling.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Kirsten Frattini
Deputy Editor

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.