Several races will be staged in the run up to the rescheduled Tour de France which starts at the end of August, an updated cycling calendar revealed.
As the ban on the sport is lifted the first race in France will be the Route d'Occitanie between August 1-4 followed by a one day mountain challenge at Mont Ventoux and then the Tour de l'Ain from August 7-9.
Also packed into the programme is the shortened Criterium de Dauphine between 12-16 August and then the four-day Tour du Limousin from August 18.
The International Cycling Union insisted the dates would be constantly evaluated according to the health situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The Tour has been rescheduled to embark from Nice on August 29 from its original June start date in an attempt to make sure the sport's central financial pillar can be staged this season.

Tour de France preceded by several warm up races

PTI Automatic

With the German Bundesliga having become the first major European league to resume following the two-month coronavirus shutdown and more and more countries now planning to follow suit, AFP Sport casts a glance at the situation across the continent:
- Leagues restarting -
======================
The German Bundesliga returned at the weekend to play out the final nine rounds of the season with all matches going ahead behind closed doors.
It was not the first European league to return, however. That honour went to the Faroe Islands, which resumed its league a week earlier. Not forgetting Belarus, which was the only European country where football carried on throughout the last two months.
On Tuesday football also returned in Estonia, with the top-flight Meistriliiga making its comeback behind closed doors.
Here are confirmed restart dates elsewhere: Czech Republic -- May 23
Denmark -- May 28
Serbia -- May 30
Austria -- June 2
Portugal -- June 4
Slovenia -- June 5
Croatia -- June 6
Turkey .

League-by-league guide to the return of football around Europe

Burnley assistant manager Ian Woan was named as one of six individuals at three Premier League clubs to have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The results came after the Premier League announced earlier Tuesday that it had tested a total of 748 players and club staff for COVID-19 on Sunday and Monday.
Premier League officials did not name the individuals concerned but a Burnley statement said: "Burnley Football Club can confirm that after completing a COVID-19 test on Sunday, 17th May, assistant manager Ian Woan has tested positive."
"In line with strict Premier League requirements and following a positive test, Ian will now self-isolate for a period of seven days, with a view to being tested again week commencing Monday, 25th May.
"Ian is asymptomatic and is currently safe and well at home. He will remain in close communication with club personnel regarding his re-engagement in training once he is clear of the virus."
Premier League clubs began returning to training in small ...

Burnley's Woan among six positive COVID-19 tests at Premier League clubs

Women's World Cup star Megan Rapinoe, long an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, says she wouldn't rule out running for America's highest office herself one day.
In excerpts from an interview with Vice TV that were released on Tuesday, Rapinoe branded Trump a "white nationalist" and said she didn't think his policies had helped Americans.
"Now, obviously, we have a white nationalist -- I think -- in the White House and the spewing of hate and the 'othering' of the rest of the country has only led to more rift between people and more despair and more anxiety and more fear going forward," Rapinoe said.
"There's been no sort of path forward." Rapinoe, who starred in the United States' 2019 World Cup triumph, said inclusion -- of racial minorities and women -- is key to progress.
She has been a vocal advocate for women's and LGBTQ rights and has joined in the demonstrations of kneeling for the US national anthem to protest racial inequality.
Asked if she would consider running ...

US World Cup star Rapinoe blasts Trump, doesn't rule out run for office

Marseille have offered coach Andre Villas-Boas a two-year contract extension, the French club announced, amid widespread reports that the Portuguese is set to leave after just one season in charge.
A Marseille statement said the club wished to put right "erroneous" media reports about a new contract offer and confirmed Villas-Boas -- whose existing deal runs until the end of next season -- had been offered the extension which would tie him to the Velodrome until 2023.
It would also carry the option of a further season if they qualify for the Champions League in that campaign.
It comes after the 42-year-old led the former European champions to second place behind Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1 season which was ended early because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Marseille, who are owned by American tycoon Frank McCourt, are therefore set to feature in the Champions League next season for the first time since 2013/14.
The statement said the contract offer showed "the club's willingness .

Marseille offer coach Villas-Boas new contract amid doubts over future

Italy's Serie A teams have been given the green light to resume group training but will have to wait until May 28 to know whether the season can resume, Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said.
Spadafora told Italian television that government scientists had accepted the Italian football federation's (FIGC) revised health protocol.
"The Scientific Technical Committee have approved the FIGC protocol for the resumption of team training," Spadafora told Rai.
"It is excellent news, collective training can now resume." Spadafora said he has scheduled a meeting on May 28 with FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and Lega Serie A chief Paolo Dal Pino to decide on the return to competition.
"We will then decide if and when Serie A will restart," he said.
"The important thing will be to restart with the firm intention of completing the championship, then the federations will decide the modalities and formats to be adopted."
The minister said that a controversial measure of isolating team members ...

Serie A group training gets all clear, season decision May 28

Russia on Tuesday denounced President Donald Trump's threat to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Yes, there are opportunities to improve it... and we are ready -- as before -- to play an active role in this work," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by news agency Interfax.
"But we are against breaking everything that is there for the sake of one state's political or geopolitical preferences, I mean the United States or even a group of states with the United States at its helm," Ryabkov told reporters after a meeting with lawmakers of the ruling United Russia party.
"We are against politicising everything that is linked to the COVID-19 spread," Ryabkov was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti.
"The WHO cannot become a puck that is passed back and forth." Trump has accused the WHO of botching the global coronavirus response and of being a "puppet of China".
He has been locked .

Russia denounces US attempts to 'break' WHO

The restart of the Bundesliga last weekend has drawn criticism from the sports community in football-mad Germany with world champion rower Oliver Zeidler branding it "a joke" and criticised an "insane system".
"It's a joke," Zeidler told AFP subsidiary SID.
"If children cannot go to daycare and caterers are not allowed to use their full capacity, then allowing millionaires on the pitch sends the wrong signal."
The 23-year-old, the 2019 world champion in single sculls, said he would like fans to turn their backs on the "insane system" and the "increasingly drifting parallel world" in which football exists.
The German Bundesliga became the first top European league to resume after the restart plan was approved by Angela Merkel's government.
Regular testing of players, games played behind closed doors and replacements wearing face masks are part of the strict hygiene measures.
Germany currently has 175,210 cases of the coronavirus, which has so far claimed over 8,000 lives.
However, ...

"A joke": Bundesliga restart draws criticism from German sports community

Six positive cases for coronavirus have been detected at three Premier League clubs after players and staff were tested ahead of a return to training, England's top flight said Tuesday.
"The Premier League can today confirm that, on Sunday 17 May and Monday 18 May, 748 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19," the league said in a statement.
"Of these, six have tested positive from three clubs."
No details were released over which individuals or clubs are affected.
"Players or club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate for a period of seven days," added the league's statement.
Premier League clubs began returning to training in small groups on Tuesday after protocols on safety measures were signed off on Monday.
The number of positive cases represents just 0.8 percent of those tested and is consistent with similar widespread testing conducted by other major leagues hoping to complete the season.
Germany's top two divisions registered 10 positive cases out of ...

Six positive tests for coronavirus at Premier League clubs

Reigning Czech champions and current league leaders Slavia Prague said Tuesday the entire team will go into quarantine after a player tested positive for the coronavirus.
Suspended since mid-March, the country's top-flight First League is set to resume on Saturday, with Slavia due to travel to Mlada Boleslav for their opening game on May 26.
"The club is in quarantine until Thursday," tweeted Slavia director Jaroslav Tvrdik.
The League Football Association (LFA) said Tuesday it had tested 1,442 players from the top two divisions, with two testing positive -- the other from Slavia's next opponents Boleslav.
Slavia players will undergo control tests on Friday and Monday.
"The team expects to hold the first training session on Friday afternoon, depending on the outcome of the test," said Tvrdik.
"We want to play on Tuesday if the second test next Monday is negative," he added.
The Boleslav player who tested positive was due to undergo a control test on Tuesday, with results expected ...

Czech champions Slavia Prague to be quarantined after virus case

Six positive cases for coronavirus have been detected at three Premier League clubs after players and staff were tested ahead of a return to training.
"The Premier League can today confirm that, on Sunday 17 May and Monday 18 May, 748 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19.
Of these, six have tested positive from three clubs," the Premier League said in a statement on Tuesday.

Six positive tests for coronavirus at Premier League clubs - league

NFL players could wear modified facemasks next season, with league engineers and equipment maker Oakley already testing prototypes, according to NFL Players Association medical director Thom Mayer.
Speaking on ESPN's The Adam Schefter Podcast, Mayer said: "there probably will be a recommendation" for players to use the face coverings to protect from coronavirus when the NFL season begins, now scheduled for September.
"The league's bioengineers are testing prototypes with Oakley," Mayer said.
"They're looking at every issue, including when masks fog up."
The masks being tested by Oakley, which makes visors for NFL helmets, could include N95 or surgical grade materials and could cover the full area behind a typical helmet face guard.
Mayer advised players with elevated risk factors to be extra cautious about such details as pulling helmets on and off on the sidelines, social distancing and keeping a personal hydration bottle.
"Just every little detail," Mayer said. "Anybody who has got .

NFL testing modified masks for players next season

England off-spinner Dom Bess believes maintaining physical fitness has helped him cope with anxiety issues caused by the coronavirus lockdown.
"Getting out running and fit always gets me in a positive mindset and having a bit of structure," said Bess, in a Zoom conversation with former Somerset team-mate Marcus Trescothick, whose own mental health issues cut short his England career.
"I know how it affects me," added Bess, who first spoke about his mental health problems in an interview last month.
"I always call them triggers. Even little things like the weather.
"There's times where it's been really bad and I really struggle to get out of bed and the motivation is not there any more.
"I struggle with that quite a lot and getting going is always the hardest part for me, certainly in this lockdown.
"There's been little triggers but I'm fortunate enough to have two people in my household, my girlfriend and my housemate, to make sure that I'm all right and keep going with it."
The ...

England spinner Bess says running helps with virus anxiety issues

World Health Organisation member states agreed on Tuesday to an independent probe into the UN agency's coronavirus response as US criticism mounted over its handling of the pandemic.
Countries taking part in the WHO's annual assembly, being held virtually for the first time, adopted a resolution by consensus urging a joint response to the crisis.
The resolution, tabled by the European Union, called for an "impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of the international response to the pandemic, which has so far infected more than 4.8 million people and killed over 318,000.
It said the investigation should include a probe of "the actions of WHO and their time-lines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic".
The US did not disassociate itself from the consensus as some had feared after Washington chastised the WHO on the first day of the assembly Monday and lashed out further against China over its role in the outbreak.
Tuesday's resolution at the WHO assembly -- which is not ...

WHO states agree to independent probe of coronavirus response

Werder Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt insists they haven't been "knocked out" despite a first relegation for 40 years looming.
Werder were hammered 4-1 on Monday behind closed doors by Bayer Leverkusen, whose Germany forward Kai Havertz scored two goals to seal Bremen's seventh straight home defeat.
Bremen's glum home defeat completed the opening round of league matches as the Bundesliga became the first top European league to restart during the COVID-19 pandemic with rigid hygiene measures and fans locked out.
"There is still hope. This is not yet a KO blow for us," said Kohfeldt, who has nine games left to keep his side up.
However, four-time German champions Bremen, who last won the league in 2003-04, are firmly on the ropes.
After fellow former giants Hamburg were already relegated last season, north Germany neighbours Bremen are second from bottom, nine points from safety and five from the relegation play-off place.
They are now winless in their last 10 home games -- a club record 

Bremen on the ropes, but Kohfeldt insists 'we aren't KO'd'

An August 3 deadline to complete the suspended football season was only a recommendation and "not official", according to a letter written by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin amid an ongoing row over the decision to call a premature end to the campaign in France.
In a letter sent to the Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas on May 14 -- revealed by French daily Le Parisien and of which AFP has obtained a copy -- Ceferin explains that European football's governing body had indeed discussed setting an August 3 deadline for countries to finish their domestic leagues.
August 3 was cited as the latest date for the top 15 European leagues, including France, to finish seasons which ground to a halt in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic. The date for lower-ranked competitions was July 20.
"However, we always mentioned during those meetings that these dates were recommended and tentative, not official," Ceferin wrote.
Referring to a UEFA meeting on April 23 setting out a way forward for 

Curtailed French season could have been completed in August, UEFA letter reveals

Former Australia star Greg Inglis has come out of retirement to join Super League side Warrington.
World Cup winner Inglis retired in April 2019 due to recurring fitness problems.
But the 33-year-old centre revealed on Tuesday that he has agreed a one-year deal to play for Warrington in 2021.
Super League has been sidelined for two months due to the coronavirus and doubts remain over when it will return after the Challenge Cup final, which was scheduled for July, was postponed on Tuesday.
"This signing is a gift to every one of our fantastic members and partners who are currently experiencing difficult times," Warrington chief executive Karl Fitzpatrick said.
"Greg is considered to be one of the greatest Rugby League players of the modern era.
"To see him pull on the primrose and blue will be a historical moment in Warrington Wolves and Super League's timeline."
Inglis won three Grand Finals in Australia and played 32 State of Origin Tests for Queensland.
He played 266 NRL games and ..

Australia's Inglis comes out of retirement to join Warrington

A British Grand Prix would be "impossible" this year if elite sport is not exempt from 14-day quarantine restrictions when entering the United Kingdom, Formula One said on Tuesday.
Silverstone is planning to host two races behind closed doors this summer, subject to government approval, to make up for some of the lost time in the 2020 F1 season with 10 races either cancelled or postponed.
However, the UK government's coronavirus recovery strategy document set out an intention to introduce a 14-day quarantine rule for international arrivals.
"A 14-day quarantine would make it impossible to have a British Grand Prix this year," an F1 spokesperson told AFP.
"Additionally it has a major impact on literally tens of thousands of jobs linked to F1 and supply chains.
"We would be travelling back to the UK on F1-only occupied aircraft and all staff would be tested making a quarantine totally unnecessary.
"If all elite sport is to return to TV then exemptions must be provided." Seven of the 10 .

F1 demands quarantine exemptions for elite sport

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan will stage a new competition called the 'European Solidarity Cup' in 2021 to raise money for medical facilities in Italy and Spain.
The three clubs will play each other in a round-robin group, with Inter against Bayern held in Milan, Real facing Inter in Madrid and Bayern hosting Real in Munich.
Proceeds from the fixtures will be donated to medical facilities in Italy and Spain, two of the world's worst-hit countries by the coronavirus pandemic.
The aim is "to send out a message of solidarity and fraternity to the people of Europe", said a statement from Real Madrid.
Dates for the tournament have not been decided. The timing will "depend on the match calendar and when football can be played in front of fans again", the clubs said.
Bayern will invite 5,000 nurses, carers and doctors to the Allianz Arena for their match against Real Madrid.
"Nurses, carers and doctors in particular are doing an outstanding job for society at the moment," said ..

Real Madrid, Bayern and Inter Milan to launch European Solidarity Cup

Manchester United have warned fans to stay away from matches played behind closed doors at Old Trafford if the Premier League restarts amid the coronavirus crisis.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are set to resume small group training on Wednesday as Premier League clubs step up the "Project Restart" plan to finish the season.
But all 92 remaining matches will have to be played in front of empty stands due to the pandemic, leading United to activate a refund or rebate to ticket holders for their remaining home fixtures.
If the Premier League get their wish to play at clubs' normal stadiums rather than at neutral venues, then United will have four home league matches to play.
Aware of the danger of supporters gathering in large groups during the health crisis, United have pleaded with their fans to stay away from matches and watch on television.
"We share your disappointment that you will not be able to watch United in person from within the stadium, but we would encourage you to give your 

Man Utd urge fans to stay away if matches resume

Watford captain Troy Deeney will not return to training this week over fears he could pass coronavirus on to his five-month-old son.
Deeney has consistently voiced his concerns over the speed with which the Premier League hopes to return to playing matches despite the United Kingdom having the second-highest death toll in the world.
England's top-flight clubs are due to return to training in small, socially distanced groups on Tuesday.
Training will then be stepped up to full contact with the aim of resuming the season by the middle of next month.
"We're due back in this week. I've said I'm not going in. It's nothing to do with financial gain," Deeney said on the Talk The Talk podcast.
"My son is five months and he's had breathing difficulties. I don't want to come home and put him in more danger." All players and staff will be regularly tested, but Deeney highlighted the contradiction of contact sport returning at a time when the public are told to continue following social ...

AFP

AFP

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