Page 22 - ARUBA TODAY

A22 SPORTS
Thursday 19 March 2020

Team Groupama FDJ's Thibault Pinot, of France, thrashes his bi-
cycle towards the line to finish the seventh and final stage of the
Paris Nice cycling race over 166 kilometers starting in Nice and
finishing in Valdeblore La Colmiane, France, Saturday, March
14, 2020.
Associated Press
UCI president hopes

Giro, other races can

go ahead in autumn

In this Feb. 5, 2020, file photo, construction work of the newly built roof of the Philippe Chatrier
center court is pictured at Roland Garros stadium in Paris.
Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The president Most people quickly re-
of the International Cy-
cover from the virus after
Tennis tours stop until June cling Union hopes the Giro experiencing only mild
d'Italia and other races or moderate symptoms,
for COVID-19; rankings frozen postponed because of the such as fever and cough.
coronavirus outbreak can For some, especially older
adults and people with
go ahead later this year.
Four one-day classic races existing health problems, it
By HOWARD FENDRICH with the stakeholders in the changes to their tourna- to be held next month were can cause more severe ill-
AP Tennis Writer game." It went on to say ments but are studying the canceled this week. The ness, including pneumonia.
The ATP and WTA profes- that is "a view that is shared matter. Paris-Roubaix cobblestone According to the World
sional tennis tours suspend- by" the ATP, WTA, Interna- Shortly after the ATP-WTA race, the Fleche Wallonne, Health Organization, peo-
ed all competition through tional Tennis Federation announcement, the the ITF Liege-Bastogne-Liege and ple with mild illness recover
at least June 7 because of and the groups that run put a halt to its lower-tier the Amstel Gold race have in about two weeks.
the new coronavirus pan- the U.S. Open, Wimbledon events until June 7. all been called off. Lappartient said he is con-
demic and froze their rank- and Australian Open — the The tours said last week The Strade Bianche and sulting with Italian race or-
ings Wednesday "until fur- three non-French Grand they would suspend play Milan-San Remo were al- ganizer RCS about holding
ther notice." Slam tournaments. until late April or early May. ready postponed along the Giro "probably in au-
In a rare joint statement For most people, COVID-19 The tournaments affected with the Giro, which was to tumn."
by the men's and women's causes only mild or moder- by Wednesday's moves start on May 9. The Giro would not start as
tours, they announced that ate symptoms, such as fe- include combined men's UCI president David Lap- scheduled from Hungary,
the entire clay-court circuit ver and cough. For some, and women's events in Ma- partient told French televi- he added, and the route
"will not be held as sched- especially older adults and drid and Rome. sion on Wednesday that he may be redesigned and
uled" — a day after the people with existing health Also being scrapped has "good hope" several shorter. It was set to be the
start of the French Open, problems, it can cause are upcoming WTA tour- races can still go ahead. first time a Grand Tour visit-
also played on that sur- more severe illness, includ- naments in Strasbourg, "In the coming days and ed Hungary, with the capi-
face, was postponed from ing pneumonia. France, and Rabat, Moroc- weeks we will work on re- tal city of Budapest holding
May to September. The vast majority of people co, along with ATP events modelling the calendar, a stage starting from He-
The French tennis federa- recover from the new virus. in Munich; Estoril, Portugal; depending on the evolu- roes' Square."The Giro is ob-
tion's go-it-alone decision According to the World Geneva; and Lyon, France. tion of the epidemic," Lap- viously part of our priorities
to pick new dates and re- Health Organization, peo- With players unable to add partient told France TV. and we have good hope
schedule the beginning of ple with mild illness recover points by winning matches, "The first possibility is to re- to see it taking place," Lap-
its clay-court Grand Slam in about two weeks, while they won't lose them now, program the monuments partient said. "With regards
tournament for one week those with more severe ill- either, so will hold their cur- of cycling (the classics) for to the Tour (de France), for
after the end of the hard- ness may take three to six rent spots in the ATP and the autumn. For that we now nothing changes."
court U.S. Open in New York weeks to recover. WTA rankings until June — have the possibility of push- ASO has yet to announce a
prompted some shade As of now, the next major and possibly beyond. ing back the end of the decision on the three-week
from the fractured sport's championship on the ten- The rankings of June 8, season by two weeks to Tour, which is set to start in
other governing bodies. nis calendar is Wimbledon, which was supposed to be Oct. 31." Nice on June 27.q
"Now is not a time to act which is scheduled to start the day after the French
unilaterally, but in unison," in England on June 29. Open concluded, were go-
the ATP-WTA statement Its organizers and those in ing to be the cutoff to help
said. "All decisions related charge of the U.S. Open, determine qualification for
to the impact of the coro- which is slated to begin on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It
navirus require appropriate Aug. 31, have said they are is not known whether that
consultation and review not yet ready to make any will change.q