Coronavirus: Paris-Roubaix classic cycling race postponed until October

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Paris-Roubaix classic cycling race postponed until October

Published Thursday, April 1, 2021 11:19AM EDT Last Updated Thursday, April 1, 2021 11:36AM EDT

Cobblestone section in France's Arenberg forest

A view of the cobblestone section of the Arenberg forest in Wallers, northern France, on April 2, 2020. (Michel Spingler / AP)

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PARIS -- The Paris-Roubaix cycling race has been postponed until October because of the coronavirus pandemic, Thursday.

The race had been scheduled for April 11 but can't go ahead as planned because of a surge in new infections in France. The French government has introduced new nationwide measures that include closing schools for at least three weeks and putting in place a month-long domestic travel ban.

The UCI said the men's race will now take place on Oct. 3, a day after the women's event.

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"For the UCI and the cycling community, it was very important that both races could take place in 2021, and I am delighted that new dates suitable for all parties have been found," UCI president David Lappartient said.

Paris-Roubaix is known as the Queen of the Classics because it is the most prestigious of the five races, otherwise known as "monuments" of cycling. The iconic one-day race over long stretches of cobbled paths and roads was cancelled last year because of the pandemic.