Q&A Pierre-Yves Thouault

Cyclist: When did you first realise that Covid-19 would affect the 2020 Tour?

Pierre-Yves Thouault: The ASO [Amaury Sport Organisation] runs many races including Paris-Nice, so we realised in early March. The authorities updated us on the situation and we had to impose more restrictions during the race, and by the end we had no choice but to cancel the final stage. Shortly after that France went into total lockdown.

Cyc: What did you do during lockdown?

We worked flat out to establish a revised calendar. We organised ourselves into working groups – I dealt with the sport aspect, working with Professor Xavier