The Tour de France is set to be postponed after the French government said no mass gatherings can take place in the country before July 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 107th edition of the Tour was set to begin in Nice on June 27 and conclude in Paris on July 19, but President Emmanuel Macron's announcement means it will not be able to do so.
Organisers ASO have already ruled out the idea of attempting to stage the race behind closed doors, and have been speaking to local authorities due to host stages about alternative dates.
The PA news agency has contacted ASO for comment.
Cancellation of the race must also be considered a possibility, but would be a last resort given the Tour's importance to cycling's economy – attracting audience numbers far in excess of any other race.
Cycling's WorldTour has been on hiatus since Paris-Nice finished a day early on March 14, with all subsequent races either postponed or cancelled.
The Tour is the next race left on the schedule. World governing body the UCI has said it is working with stakeholders to draw up a new road racing calendar for 2020, giving priority to the Grand Tours and one-day Monuments.
RCS Sport 2020 #Giro d'Italia date postponed >>> https://t.co/oh3EiLkE2t | @rcssport posticipa la data del #Giro d'Italia 2020 >>> https://t.co/5PXcHbpXWd pic.twitter.com/G0Q0hhdOGo — Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) March 13, 2020
The Giro d'Italia, due to begin in Budapest on May 9, has already been postponed.
Team Ineos' Egan Bernal won last year's Tour and the British team, winners of seven of the past eight editions, were expected to take a squad including three former winners to the start line in Nice.
Geraint Thomas, winner in 2018, was targeting the race, while four-time winner Chris Froome was making it the focal point of his comeback from career-threatening injuries suffered in last year's Criterium du Dauphine.
