PARIS (Reuters) – Nice mayor Christian Estrosi on Thursday called for the cancellation of Sunday’s final stage of the Paris-Nice cycling race in its current form amid COVID-19 restrictions in the city.
A decision on whether the final stage, a 110.5-km ride around Nice finishing on the seaside Promenade des Anglais, takes place can be made by the regional authorities.
Estrosi has requested that the Promenade, which would normally be full of people strolling in the spring sunshine but has been closed for the last two weekends, instead be opened to pedestrians and cyclists this Saturday and Sunday.
“For the sake of consistency, I… request the cancellation of the Paris-Nice finish as it is currently planned,” Estrosi tweeted after the French government extended the weekend lockdown to Saturday and Sunday.
The government imposed a weekend lockdown in Nice and other Cote d’Azur resorts as the area has been one of the worst-hit by the novel coronavirus with an incidence rate nearing 500 cases per 100,000 – more than twice the national rate.
Race organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) declined to comment as the prestigious week-long race, which started from the Paris suburbs last Sunday, holds its fifth stage on Thursday. Saturday’s seventh stage also starts from Nice.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Ken Ferris)
