Tour de France Moving to August

(ATR) Three major cycling competitions, including the Tour de France, remain on the revised 2020 calendar unveiled by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) on Wednesday.

The Tour de France was postponed following the announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday that a ban on public gatherings would stay in place until at least mid-July.

The race was supposed to start on June 27 in Nice and end in Paris on July 19.

The showcase cycling event is now scheduled to begin on Aug. 29 and end on Sept. 20. The route for the three-week race remains the same.

The UCI, in a statement said "Holding this event in the best conditions possible is judged essential given its central place in cycling’s economy and its exposure, in particular for the teams that benefit on this occasion from unparalleled visibility."

The Tour de France is responsible for about 70 percent of teams’ sponsor visibility and value, according to Cycling News.

The other two major European stage races are also on the revised schedule.

The Giro d’Italia, which was postponed in March from its original May dates, and the Vuelta a Espana, which was still set to take place from Aug. 14-Sept. 6, have both been moved to follow the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Aigle-Martigny, Switzerland. The dates for that event have not changed from the original Sept. 20-27 dates.

As part of the agreement between the UCI and all the principal representatives of professional road cycling, all of the most prestigious one-day road races including Milano-Sanremo (Italy), the Tour des Flandres (Belgium), Paris-Roubaix (France), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (Belgium) and Il Lombardia (Italy), will also take place this season, at dates still to be determined.

"I would like to pay tribute to the representatives of the organisers, teams and riders for their collaboration and their commitment in these difficult times," UCI President David Lappartient said in a statement.

"We still have work to do to finalise the establishment of an entirely revised 2020 UCI International Calendar given the coronavirus pandemic that has shaken the world, but a first very important step has been taken today."

The UCI has set a deadline of May 15 for a revised version of the UCI Women’s WorldTour calendar and a new version of the entire UCI International Calendar. The federation says the calendar "will nevertheless remain dependant on the world health situation".

Report: PGA Tour to Resume June 11

The PGA Tour schedule in the United States reportedly will resume in mid-June.

According to Golf Digest, the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas would mark the return of the Tour on June 11-14. The event, along with other early tournaments, is expected to be played without spectators.

The RBC Canadian Open, which was originally scheduled for those dates, will not be played, Golf Digest reports.

Last week, three of golf’s majors were rescheduled for later in the year. The PGA Championship was moved from May 17 to Aug. 6-9, the U.S. Open from mid-June to mid-September, and the Masters from its traditional April dates to the week of Nov. 9.

The fourth golf major, the Open Championship, has been postponed until 2021.

Penn Relays Go Digital

The historic Penn Relays track and field meet is taking a different approach after being shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

As the oldest and largest track meet in the United States, the Penn Relays predates the modern Olympics and the Boston Marathon. Held every year in Philadelphia on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania since 1895 – even pushing forward through World Wars – the 126th edition of the venerable event will be presented unlike ever before.

Although historic Franklin Field with be devoid of the usual 15,000 collegiate and high school runners, jumpers and throwers on April 23-24, organizers will unveil the Digital Penn Relays.

The modern concept involves a blend of esports, athlete interviews, live feeds inside the stadium and around campus, in addition to historic highlights and footage. It will be delivered to viewers at home as an "online festival".

"We’re marrying one of the most historic events in the world with something that is really new," Penn Sports Properties vice president Nino Vanin tells the Washington Post.

The gaming aspect could involve actual Penn Relays competitors joining and playing Minecraft, running laps around a virtual Franklin Field with obstacles added. The video competition will be streamed on Twitch on April 24, which would have been the second day of the track meet.

The concept is an expanded version of an original idea to supplement the actual track and field competition and attract a younger demographic with an innovative and fun gaming component.

"Once the Relays were canceled, we pivoted and said, ‘Let’s really blow this digital out,’" Vanin told the Washington Post.

The Penn Relays slogan is "We’re Still Running" and organizers have managed to find a creative way to continue the longstanding 125-year-old tradition.

Written by Gerard Farek and Brian Pinelli

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