COVID-19 and the Spring Classics

For Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, the next few weeks promised a smorgasbord of epic, gritty road races through the cobbles of Western Europe. Every year, crowds span the roads between Paris and Roubaix and Ghent and Wevelgem (and many other hard-to-pronounce Dutch towns) to watch pro roadies in their early season as they brave stiff headwinds, horrendous road conditions and short, steep climbs. This excitement has been shunted, however, by the abrupt cancellation/postponement of the entire Spring Classic calendar effective immediately because of the spread of novel coronavirus.

For most, this seemed inevitable. After the rapid spread of the virus through Italy, many knew the fate of the Giro d’Italia (Tour of Italy) was going to be canned for the first time since the second World War because of its massive spread across the entire region, but many also didn’t account for how races would be faring farther up North. To ensure international safety, the entire pro peloton has been sent home until this pandemic can subside. Of course, these racers all have significantly more respiratory capacity than most healthy adults, so they would effectively face no harm; however, these races are attended and viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, and it’s pretty hard to match the no-audience tactics of stadium-bound sports when races will sometimes pass right through fans’ neighborhoods. In other words, someone is bound to risk the health and safety of their town in order to get a good look at the beautiful glisten of Peter Sagan’s beard.

Because I’m optimistic, I would be willing to think most events after mid-summer are going to be okay, but nobody can be certain. The Tour de France starts right at the beginning of July, and a serious impact could be made on the sport as a whole if such a massive event ends up being canceled. At this point, it’s only a matter of waiting to see how Europe continues to respond to the epidemic. Italy and Spain have both banned leisure cycling altogether on the roads in an effort to keep people inside as much as possible, and most of Western Europe is sure to follow suit if issues progress into a more drastic phase. Ultimately, though, cyclists are in mourning because, regardless, the pros are already off the roads for the foreseeable future, and it’s going to take a good deal of time for any races to return to the WorldTour calendar.