Organisers of the Los Angeles Olympics have unveiled the full schedule for all events at the 2028 Games, and the calendar throws up a major clash with the usual dates of the Tour de France.
The 2028 Olympics run from July 12 to July 30, with the men's and women's road racing events falling right in the middle of the Games.
Both time trials will be held on July 19, while the women's and men's road races will be held on July 22 and 23.
While the dates figure to slot neatly into the women's racing calendar, given the Tour de France Femmes move to early August (1-9) in 2026, the dates do seem to pose a problem for the men's race.
The men's Tour de France usually kicks off on the first weekend of July. However, the race sometimes shifts to the end of June in Olympic years, including for the Paris Games in 2024 (June 29) and the Tokyo Games in 2021 (June 26). Last year, the Tour was forced to move its final stage away from Paris to accommodate the Games.
Meanwhile, the road racing events in Los Angeles are scheduled to begin a full five days earlier than the same events during the past five Olympics, throwing up further calendar challenges.
A Tour Grand Départ on July 1 would mean the race ends on July 23, overlapping with both Olympic events. An unprecedented start date of a week earlier on June 24 would leave just a three-day gap before the time trials and a nine-day gap before the men's road race.
Moving the race would have knock-on effects on June's racing calendar, including National Championships around the world and WorldTour races, including the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly Critérium du Dauphiné) and the Tour de Suisse.
However, with the Olympic dates now set, it looks like a June 24 start would be the Tour's only option to avoid a major calendar clash in 2028.
