Tour de France race director Christian Prudhomme breathed a huge sigh of relief Sunday, telling French media that "just getting to Paris is a victory," despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in France, much of Europe, and around the world. He breathed a huge sigh of relief. Prudhomme tested positive for coronavirus during the race, but returned to the race in the final week, and when he arrived in Paris, Tadey Pogachar of UAE Team Emirates was crowned this year's winner.

"Every year journalists ask me if I am relieved at the end of the Tour, and this year I said 'yes. Just getting to Paris was a victory," Prudhomme told French radio station Sud Radio on Sunday.

"In the hours leading up to the start in Nice, I was afraid because I knew that two COVID-19 positives (for a player) would lead to the exclusion of the team," he admitted.

"Now it seems to me that it allowed us to make it all the way to the end. They did their job. It became clear to everyone that the measures that needed to be taken so that we could race, so that we could all work."

Prudhomme said that all the questions he received from the media before the Tour were about how the coronavirus would affect the race, but once the Tour began, special safety measures were put in place, even though the majority of the race would take place in September instead of July, Once the Tour began, it began to feel like business as usual, even though special safety measures were put in place and the majority of the race was held in September instead of July. [And the next day, Julien Alaphilippe's stage win, yellow jersey, glorious sun, beautiful scenery, and people along the way (90-95% wearing masks). ...... Of course, it was September, so there were fewer people than in July, but the reaction along the roadside was remarkable. Decorated villages, ordinary citizens ......."

Prudhomme cited "intermediate" stages that were neither flat nor mountainous as particularly enjoyable, such as stage 7 in Lavolle, stage 14 in Lyon, and stage 19 in Champagnol.

"Thanks to Peter Sagan, Sam Bennett, and their teams (Beulah Hansgrohe and Dečuninck-Quick Step), the battle for the green jersey this year has been the best for who knows how long. 'What is certain is that we need to cut down on the flat stage mileage. The final stage is too tough when it's this long."

Prudhomme was asked to rate this year's Tour in comparison to other recent events, but insisted that despite the excitement of the final time trial at the 2020 Tour, the 2019 event (in which local French riders in particular excelled) was a different kind of race.

"We are not going to put it on the same level as last year, which was so exciting because of the great performances of the French riders. For a moment in Nice this year, I dreamed of what might happen, but the crash on the opening stage played a big part."

"Even though he kept racing, Thibaut Pinot dropped out of GC contention like Romain Bardet and Nairo Quintana, and Egan Bernal was the biggest surprise," Prudhomme said of the 2019 Tour champion. 'I never thought he would drop out of contention.'