Cycling news - Nicolas Roche still wants Tour de France to go ahead even if without spectators

The Tour is currently in the balance with France on lockdown due to the coronavirus.

However Roche believes that the event could still go ahead, even if it is eventually postponed.

The minister for sport in France, Roxana Maracineanu said that the event could well go ahead but that fans may not be permitted to attend.

June 27 to July 19 are the current scheduled dates, but that could be changed to accommodate the impact of covid-19.

Speaking to Mirror Sport, Roche said: "The Tour de France is a lot more than a bike race, and without the fans it won't be the same.

"But I'd love to race, to go back doing my job. If the option is there, why not?

"I read the quotes from the Minister, saying it could be a solution to go behind closed doors. When you're doing something for the first time, it's very hard to see how it would turn out."

The rider understood that France may be relucatant to see thousands of fans and staff come to the country given the spread of the disease.

"I'd be more interested to see if France would tolerate foreigners coming back into the country at that point, fans and athletes," Roche said.

"In Spain it's been 30 days, in Italy it is the same.

"But the Germans and Dutch have been allowed to go training five or six hours on the road each day.

"Here, we are very limited in terms of what we can do.

"We're talking about one of the worst diseases to hit us in modern history, one that will cost countries billions - if I was a Minister, what would I be thinking about tolerating the return of so many after a lockdown?

Roche acknowledged that there is much to be decided over how the race could proceed.

"Would you have people only at the start and finish areas? How do you police it, do you stop people coming out to show their support from their gardens?

"People have accommodation booked from a long time ago, hotels are depending on that tourism, cities have paid a lot of money to host the start or finish of stages.

"It's very complicated, but there's still a long way to go and I'd love to race. It wouldn't be a problem if the fans had to stay away, as long as they can see it for free on whatever platform - TV, iPad or whatever."