Paris-Roubaix 2020 has been cancelled after the Lille Metropolitan area was placed on maximum coronavirus alert.
The cobbled Classic had already been rescheduled for October 25th from its original April 12th date but will now not take place at all this year.
“At the request of the Préfet du Nord, Préfet des Hauts de France and following the Health Minister Olivier Véran’s announcement yesterday, that placed the Lille Metropolitan area on maximum alert, the 118th edition of Paris-Roubaix (UCI WorldTour) and the 1st edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes (UCI Women’s WorldTour), originally scheduled to take place on the 25th October, will not be organised,” a press release from the race organisers read.
Instead, race organisers say they will “see you on 11th April 2021” when the peloton next take on the Hell of the North.
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“Paris-Roubaix had already been postponed from its original 12th of April date following the containment measures put in place in spring to fight against the spread of COVID-19,” the statement continued.
“We would like to warmly thank the communities and event partners who supported us in this postponement as well as those who were, like us, delighted to see the Queen of the Classics even in the autumn. We will see you on the cobblestones on the 11th April 2021 to celebrate one of the greatest monuments in world cycling.”
The rescheduled 2020 race was set to debut the first-ever women’s edition of the cobbled Classic, with riders such as Annemiek van Vleuten, Anna van der Breggen and Marianne Vos lining up to compete for the inaugural title.
Paris-Roubaix was set to top off cycling’s ‘Super Sunday’ on October 25, when the final time trial stage of the Giro d’Italia takes place in Milan while the peloton of the Vuelta a España tackles the Tourmalet.
The Amstel Gold Race was also recently cancelled after coronavirus cases began creeping up again in Europe, having been rescheduled from its usual spot in mid-April.
