The postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Monday.

Because the Olympic Games' timeframe was changed exactly one year after the originally planned duration, the 2021 Tour de France (opens in new tab) will open a week earlier than planned to avoid a conflict with the Olympics.

The 2021 Tour (opens in new tab) is scheduled to start in Copenhagen (opens in new tab) on Friday, July 2 and end in Paris on Sunday, July 25. Since the men's road race for the Tokyo Olympics will be held on July 24, it seems inevitable that La Grande Boucle will be held a week earlier than originally planned, as it has been this season, to coincide with the 2020 Olympics.

Due to the Covid 19 epidemic, it is already uncertain whether the 2020 Tour will be held as planned. The Spring Classics and Giro d'Italia have been postponed and all races are currently suspended, but French Sports Minister Roxana Marassineanu has indicated that the event will be held behind closed doors.

RTBF reported this weekend that a decision on the 2020 Tour will be made by May 15.

After last week's confirmation of the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to a coronavirus pandemic, the IOC and local organizing committees moved quickly to announce a new date. [IOC President Thomas Bach said, "I would like to thank the International Sports Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for their excellent partnership and support in the consultation process over the past few days. [Humanity is currently in a dark tunnel. This Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be the light at the end of this tunnel."

After the Tokyo Olympics were postponed last week, a spring date was considered, but the local organizing committee expressed a preference for the games to be held in the summer as previously planned. [Yoshiro Mori, chairman of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, said, "We agreed that it is desirable to hold the postponed Games during the summer holidays in Japan, as a certain amount of time is needed for athlete selection, qualification, training, and preparation. "19]

"Transportation, volunteer arrangements, domestic and international ticket provision, and the COVID-19 situation, we believe that it is better to reschedule the event to the summer of 2021, one year later than planned."

"We are also aware of the need for a new venue in the summer of 2021.

The IOC reiterated that "all athletes already qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the slots already allocated will not be changed."

New dates were also set for the Paralympics, which will be held from August 24 to September 5, 2021.