Paris -Roubaix 2020 canceled

[Asero831]

Vuelta and Flanders next?

 

[RedheadDane]

Vuelta and Flanders next?

Let's hope not! After all; they're not held in Northern France.

 

[Wvv]

Also very unfortunate for the ladies, missing out on their very first edition.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Chance of rain just increased to 100%

 

[RedheadDane]

Also very unfortunate for the ladies, missing out on their very first edition.

To be fair; their very first edition will just be the one next year, then. And (trying to find some positive here) it might actually be a good thing that they won't have to share the attention with both the Giro and the Vuelta.

 

[SafeBet]

Terrible news. Pretty sure Remco would have won.

 

[thiscocks]

Joke

 

[Velolover2]

The year is not over yet. Move Amstel and Roubaix to December.

 

[BlueRoads]

How is Wout supposed to win now? Have they thought about that?

 

[Breezy1985]

Football has covid-positives almost every day, yet they just keep on playing, including stupid friendly games. Not a single problem there, apparently.

In fairness the fans on the roadside in the tour didn't exactly cover themselves in glory

 

[Breezy1985]

Can we drop the misleading ? in the title if this is definitely confirmed

 

[TomLPC]

Mental, this could be race over for several

 

[RedheadDane]

Mental, this could be race over for several

The race is definitely over! It's been cancelled...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

To be fair; their very first edition will just be the one next year, then. And (trying to find some positive here) it might actually be a good thing that they won't have to share the attention with both the Giro and the Vuelta.

TBH the thought did cross my mind that this now gives ASO an out to abandon it - but at the same time running against the Giro and the Vuelta would also have given them ample opportunity to say 'it didn't get the attention we expected so we're not going to run it again' and I halfway expected that, unless they're very serious about trying to hurt the Giro Rosa and have the entire month of July to themselves on the women's calendar.

 

[RedheadDane]

TBH the thought did cross my mind that this now gives ASO an out to abandon it - but at the same time running against the Giro and the Vuelta would also have given them ample opportunity to say 'it didn't get the attention we expected so we're not going to run it again' and I halfway expected that, unless they're very serious about trying to hurt the Giro Rosa and have the entire month of July to themselves on the women's calendar.

Paris-Roubaix isn't usually in July, though.

 

[TomLPC]

The race is definitely over! It's been cancelled...

It’s the kind of stirring analysis that makes me wonder why I don’t charge a fee for people to see my posts.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Paris-Roubaix isn't usually in July, though.

There is speculation following the fact the Giro wasn't warned or told about any sanctions other than risking a fine (which is what was stated to be the punishment in the UCI's official communications) until after the fact and its status was revoked was partly to do a plan on ASO's part to clear the calendar for their mooted stage race from 2022. The Giro Rosa being a more established and historic race already in that calendar slot is an impediment to them, and La Course has been allowed to stomp all over historic races left right and centre already, but with their reticence regarding coverage around races like the Ardennes, they need to keep the UCI onboard, and with Paris-Roubaix being a new ASO race, they need to behave themselves with it. Obviously cancelling this year's is no issue given the circumstances, but will be interesting to see how it shakes out in the coming years.

And by 'interesting', I mean 'very worrying for the established traditional women's races'. ASO, as I've mentioned before, has been losing a lot of money on the Dakar in recent years and props it up with their cycling endeavours which make a lot more money. They need to ensure that any additional cycling commitments they make will be profitable, and having had to spend more money than they normally would this year (in securing coverage guarantees for races that historically have taken place in the dark), if they're being committed to more races, or bigger/longer/more expensive races, then they are looking at making sure it is worth their while to do so. And as we've seen from the way the Route de France (7-9 days) and Trophée d'Or (4 days) were irreparably damaged by the loss of their spot to La Course (1 day), and the moving of La Course to mid-race forced a calendar change to the Thüringen Rundfahrt (7 days), the fact they would now be moving into a position that puts them directly face to face with the single most prestigious race on the women's calendar is potentially threatening.

At the same time, the Giro's organisation has been a bit complacent this last few years what with their prestige being pretty inherent as the only remaining GT for women, so a bit of competition will hopefully spur them to improve their offering and compete. Perhaps RCS can be brought onside to provide more assistance than their licensing etc., so that the race's infrastructure can catch up as the off-bike side of things has suffered in comparison to races like the Women's Tour. The Giro retains the higher prestige because of the more challenging terrain, the length and the history, but the longer some of these other races last, the less it can rely on that as an automatic guarantor of their prestige and pre-eminence in the calendar. A short stage race in the UK or the Low Countries will never a true GT make, due to parcours limitations, but a proper La Course (along similar lines to the one I'm working on in the Race Design Thread in fact) clearly could - and would - be a threat to the Giro proper.

 

[Gigs_98]

Tbh, I'm not actually that disappointed. Of course I would have preferred the race to take place, but it's not like there are no other races to watch that day and the whole, 3 major races taking place at the same time felt a little gimmicky anyway. Also, if next season can take place as planned we don't actually have to wait that long till PR again.

 

[RedheadDane]

Tbh, I'm not actually that disappointed. Of course I would have preferred the race to take place, but it's not like there are no other races to watch that day and the whole, 3 major races taking place at the same time felt a little gimmicky anyway. Also, if next season can take place as planned we don't actually have to wait that long till PR again.

You're just mad you'd have to not watch anything for everyone else's sake!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Tbh, I'm not actually that disappointed. Of course I would have preferred the race to take place, but it's not like there are no other races to watch that day and the whole, 3 major races taking place at the same time felt a little gimmicky anyway. Also, if next season can take place as planned we don't actually have to wait that long till PR again.

Yea, but three major races taking place at the same time would have almost guaranteed that at least 2 of them would have been great because you'd have been watching the other one.

 

[Lexman]

Vuelta and Flanders next?

The COVID is rapidly spreading in Belgium almost faster and bigger then in France so logically yes all races should be canceled... but where's logic when talking about governments and COVID-19...?

 

[gregrowlerson]

Yea, but three major races taking place at the same time would have almost guaranteed that at least 2 of them would have been great because you'd have been watching the other one.

Meatloaf's theory.

 

[Gigs_98]

You're just mad you'd have to not watch anything for everyone else's sake!

Yea, but three major races taking place at the same time would have almost guaranteed that at least 2 of them would have been great because you'd have been watching the other one.

The jokes really do write themselves, don't they...

 

[RedheadDane]

It’s the kind of stirring analysis that makes me wonder why I don’t charge a fee for people to see my posts.

You gotta admit it's a bit weird to talk about how it "could be race over", regarding a race that isn't even gonna happen.

The jokes really do write themselves, don't they...

YEP!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

The COVID is rapidly spreading in Belgium almost faster and bigger then in France so logically yes all races should be canceled... but where's logic when talking about governments and COVID-19...?

Almost faster? So not faster.
According to yesterday's numbers at least, Belgium was doing better than France & Netherlands. Which doesn't mean much of course.