Bernhard Eisel - Running the Tour de France is a risk, but it could lead sport's recovery
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ByEurosport
Updated 22/04/2020 at 14:30 GMT
Bernhard Eisel has told Eurosport that cycling could potentially cope with the packed proposed calendar.
Bernhard Eisel
Image credit: Eurosport
All three Grand Tours have been moved into a three-month autumn window due to the effects of the coronavirus.
The World Championships and Spring Classics are all expected to be squeezed into that period, meaning over 70 days of racing in a 90-day window.
It is an ambitious proposal, but Eisel things there is some logic to it:
There are still a lot of questions, but in my opinion cycling has a fair chance to make it happen, especially because all races are in central Europe.
One of the biggest challenges ahead for the Grand Tours is how the races would adjust to fit in with post-coronavirus behaviour. Eisel proposes some major changes to make the Tour run as incident-free as possible:
- Testing of all riders, staff, media, police, prior to competitions
- No fans at the roadside
- No contact to people outside the sport
- Chefs and food trucks in place for all teams
- Shopping to be centralized and delivered to the teams
- Why not sleep in campers rather than hotels?
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Eisel reacts to the new cycling calendar and the challenges that await the Tour de France
Eisel also suggests that there are some reform options to make the stage races run more effectively. That could include cutting the races to two weeks, shortening each stage, decreasing the sizes of teams, and removing feed zones (only if stages are shorter).
The Tour shows again the importance and the power it has in our sport. If the Tour gets a green light from the French government by meeting all health related criteria it will motor-pace other organisers to the line.
"If it goes wrong we can't even imagine how bad it would be for cycling, but let's stay positive," Eisel concludes.
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