With plans afoot to hold a scaled-down version of the Tour de France with a limited number of spectators, Emmanuel Buchmann, who finished fourth last year, insists that a race without spectators is "nothing new" since he and most of his peers have raced in the Middle East in recent years.

On Sunday evening, French Sports Minister Roxana Marassineanou revealed that she had held a meeting with Tour de France bosses about limiting the number of spectators for the postponed race on August 29.

Buchmann, who lost out by 25 seconds from the podium last July, said in an interview with the German press that he is optimistic about the 2020 event. He cited the Tour of the UAE, which is part of an early season race block in the Middle East, and claimed that the peloton has experience racing on quiet roads.

"It will feel very different from the past few years, but it's possible for a year," Buchman said of the fanless Tour.

"There are a lot of bike races where there aren't that many spectators; in the UAE Tour, there are hardly any spectators along the roadside.

Buchman, who made a breakthrough last year with a fourth-place finish, has his sights set on the podium in this year's race.

"My goal is to improve. I have to get through the three weeks without any injuries or crashes. I have to get through the three weeks without any injuries or crashes, because you can lose time very quickly by doing something stupid."

"If the goal is to be on the podium, winning is not far away, but winning the Tour is not the only goal.

Buchmann, who is based in the Austrian Alps, will step up his training this week with the Everest Challenge, climbing the Heimingerberg 10 times on Friday, reaching a total altitude gain of 8848 meters.

With much of the world on lockdown, anti-doping testing has been drastically reduced, but Buchman is not really worried that his competitors will cheat during this period.

"I was last tested in mid-March, just before the closure. Since then I have not been tested for doping.

"I believe the system will be reopened normally and all athletes will be tested regularly. I also don't know if there was any point in doping at the Tour at the end of April."