(Reuters) – A decision on whether the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic race will be postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to be made, French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu said on Thursday.
“The decision is not made yet, but it is a department where there is a real health problem,” Maracineanu told France Info radio about the race, which is due to take place on April 11 in the North department, one of the worst affected by the COVID-19 crisis in France.
“Maybe this event will have to be postponed.”
The decision will be made by local authorities in the North department, with prefect Michel Lalande having already hinted at a postponement.
Daily Le Parisien reported on Wednesday that the ‘Queen of the Classics’ had been postponed but organisers did not confirm this.
Paris-Roubaix is the third ‘Monument’ classic of the season after Milan-Sanremo, which has already taken place and the Tour of Flanders. It comes before Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the Giro di Lombardia.
The Tour of Flanders in Belgium is due to take place on Sunday, April 3 as planned.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
