In previous years, the Tour de France would have been filled with pre-race press conferences and training rides. However, the coronavirus outbreak has kept athletes away from competition for the past 14 weeks, and barring a second wave of COVID-19 cases, the Tour is only four weeks away.

Race director Christian Prudhomme told AFP that this year's event will be "unique and singular."

Prudhomme has not yet revealed details of the sanitation measures, saying the situation continues to change daily. Prudhomme said that "guidelines will be defined in late July or early August," adding that the same measures will be taken for the Criterium du Dauphiné and other races on the calendar.

Last week, the UCI released a framework of recommendations for resuming racing in the context of an ongoing pandemic. Prudhomme did not specifically mention these guidelines in his interview.

In addition to the obvious changes to refrain from the traditional podium kissing and signing at the start and finish of stages, Prudhomme said that public spectator participation will be allowed, but that government guidelines on the acceptable size of public spectator gatherings will determine how much capacity will be allowed to The government's guidelines on the acceptable size of public gatherings will determine what capacity will be allowed, according to Prudhomme.

"There will be no kissing or hugging during the ceremony. Also, this is certainly not the best year to get autographs. The public can come to the Tour, but there will probably be more or less tight security. In the mountains, they will favor those who climb on foot, by bicycle, or by transportation set up by the community. But again, the situation is changing daily; what will it be like two months from now?

"All we can say is that the race will be run by the best athletes. The promotional caravan will be about 100 cars, which is about 60% of what it was in previous years. The economic crisis is hitting all sides."

Prudhomme expects the race to be different from previous years because of the later date and different weather conditions.

"It will be a unique Tour because it is the slowest ever, officially in the summer but outside the vacation period. Because it is a unique Tour, there will inevitably be questions about the riders, whose preparation methods will be different this year. The weather will not be as hot and the wind will be stronger. There will probably be fewer people along the way, but there will be a party when it comes to health measures."

Throughout the ordeal of the Tour's postponement and all the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, Prudhomme was "struck by the unity of the cycling community and the willingness of the authorities to listen," but said it was his organization's job to adapt.

"We began our challenge by gaining the approval of all the elected authorities involved. One often hears the saying, 'A tool is always a tool. That was fascinating! The tool will always be the same, both in terms of sports and in terms of media. On the other hand, you can't go through the exact same route in September, so we put in some patches. For example, in Lyon, the stage was shortened by 3 kilometers and the climb to Fulviere was shortened. But it's only a small thing