Vuelta decides planned Dutch start is 'bridge too far'

This year's Vuelta will not start in the Netherlands as planned, organisers of one of cycling's Grand Tours announced on Wednesday.

The Vuelta, or Tour of Spain, was scheduled to begin on August 14 in Utrecht and finish on September 6 in Madrid, but the race had already been postponed to a date as yet unknown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Martin van Hulsteijn, the head of the Dutch organising committee, called a possible autumn start "a bridge too far," saying it presented too many practical problems.

The Vuelta organisers issued a press release saying they had been "forced" to take the decision by the reorganisation of the cycling calendar announced by the International Cycling Union (UCI) and a Dutch government ban on sporting events until September 1.

"La Vuelta 20 will not take off from the Netherlands," the organisers said.

"Due to the exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the organising committee of La Vuelta Holanda has been forced to cancel the official departure of the race from the Dutch regions of Utrecht and North Brabant."