Running News Daily

Allowing Tour would be 'crime against humanity'

Allowing the Tour de France to go ahead as scheduled despite the Covid-19 pandemic would be "madness" and a "crime against humanity", former French sports minister David Douillet has said.

The outbreak has decimated the global sporting calendar and the Tour de France - which takes place in June and July - is one of the last major global sporting events that has not yet been cancelled or postponed.

French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said on Twitter last month that it was too soon to decide if the Tour should be cancelled but that if the race did go ahead it might be held without roadside spectators to minimise the risk of infection.

Douillet said the risks involved in staging the Tour outweighed the financial implications of postponing.

"God knows I am a fan of the Tour de France. If we have enough means to ensure that all the players in the Tour and the public can be tested and are all negative, then why not, but that's not very likely, so it can't happen. There is no vaccine, nothing, and people are dying."