Coronavirus: Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana to overlap as UCI reveals new 2020 calendar

London, May 6: The Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana will overlap in October this year after the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) revealed its revised 2020 schedule on Tuesday.

Racing was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the suspension last month extended until August 1 for the UCI's WorldTour events, including the three Grand Tours.

But following a period of consultation with representatives of riders, organisers and teams, the UCI has laid out fresh plans for the conclusion of the season, which will see 25 events crammed into a little over three months.

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The plans are subject to current social and travel restrictions being lifted, but the season is due to resume on August 1 with Strade Bianche in Tuscany, Italy, before finishing on November 8 with the conclusion of La Vuelta, which is now set to begin on October 20.

Spain's Grand Tour - initially set to start in mid-August - had been shortened by a weekend at the request of organisers, after the city of Utrecht in Netherlands declared it would not be able to meet conditions for the Grand Depart.

However, even with La Vuelta operating with a reduced schedule, it will overlap – as had been expected – with the Giro d'Italia, which is to run from October 3-25.

The Tour de France had already been confirmed to start on August 29 and finish on September 20.

UCI president David Lappartient said: "We have drawn up a solid, attractive and varied new calendar that is as realistic and coherent as possible. This has been achieved as early as was practicable and in line with information available today [Tuesday] concerning the evolution of the pandemic.

"Riders, teams and organisers now have the dates they need to anticipate the resumption of racing on August 1. This is a very important step that the entire cycling community, financially impacted by the pandemic, has been waiting for to move forward."

He added: "We will continue to move forward together towards the resumption of the season, nevertheless with the reminder that the health of riders and all concerned parties is still the overriding priority, and that the recommencement of our activities will remain dependent on the evolution of the world health situation."

The Women's WorldTour is also set to recommence on August 1, with its new schedule including 18 events.