The 2021 Tour de France will start a week earlier than originally scheduled, avoiding an overlap with the start of the Tokyo Olympics that were postponed to next year.
“The French stage race will finish on 18 July, the weekend before the first weekend of the Olympics,” according an International Cycling Union (UCI) press release Tuesday.
The 2021 Tour was originally scheduled to start July 2 in Copenhagen, setting up for a July 25 finish in Paris.
That was before the Olympics were postponed by one year, to open July 23, 2021. The men’s road race, traditionally one of the first medal events, is scheduled July 24.