This year's Tour de France will be different

The Tour de France (August 29 – September 20) is not just the world's greatest cycling race because of the riders, climbs and sprint finishes. The Tour is about so much more than sport, it is the very essence of France.

I first covered the Tour as a journalist in 2012. Bradley Wiggins became the first British man to win the yellow jersey. It was also the first time I ate snails, the first time I stayed in a chateau and the first time I fully realized how wacky the Tour is.

This year's race starting in Nice will be different because of the coronavirus crisis. It has already moved from its June-July slot.

Organizers want to make it as much like a normal Tour as possible but riders and team personnel, spectators, and journalists will all be in separate "bubbles". Regular testing is key for teams. Two positive tests and a team is out. Physical distancing away from the race is also paramount, even the kiss for the stage winner from the hostess on the podium is set to be dropped.

What made the Tour unique was how close fans, journalists and riders were in normal times. Having been used to working as a journalist in football, where access to players is very limited, I was amazed in 2012 that I could literally shove a dictaphone in a rider's face as soon as they crossed the line!

Press restrictions

I remember interviewing Mark Cavendish just after a furious sprint finish. He could barely breathe and yet the reporter pack expected a detailed account of the last four hours of hell on the bike!

This year journalists cannot get so close, with special socially-distanced mixed zones set up with only two questions per journalist allowed for each rider. 

Also ingrained in the Tour was the idea the press could mill about outside the team bus.

I had a run in with fellow Briton Wiggins at the 2010 Giro d'Italia which started in Amsterdam as the Icelandic ash cloud threatened more air chaos. I asked him if he was prepared to ride all the way back to Italy. In typical outspoken style Wiggins replied: "I bet it took you ages to come up with that one."

At the Tour two years later, he was more reserved with the title on the line. I mentioned to Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford that Bradley had not spoken outside the bus for a few days. Brailsford immediately dragged the rider out to speak to us. Imagine Pep Guardiola doing that! 

This year journalists are not allowed near buses and press conferences will be held via video link back to a socially-distanced press center.

And as a seven-page rulebook sent to media states: "paper results will not be distributed at work stations and will only be shown on screens."

Tour Village

Hospitality pays the bills at the Tour so organizers could not dispense with it but guests will have to stick to COVID-19 regulations, especially at the Village event, which marks the beginning of each stage.

Lots of little stalls fill a central square in the town.

But this year's rules state: "As the health and safety of our guests, riders and staff is our top priority, the Tour de France will take a deliberate approach with limited attendance, physical distancing and enhanced cleaning measures."

The Village is really a place for cycling aficionados to find out gossip and most importantly nibble on something tasty for lunch. The odd glass of champagne was also on hand – especially in Epernay, the home of the Champagne region.

That day felt very French as I wandered down the busy Avenue de Champagne, which houses the offices of some of the most famous bubbly makers around.

This year guests must wear "appropriate face masks" at all times in socially-distanced hospitality areas, which can be entered via e-ticket on a smartphone to avoid physical contact with security.

Hotels and food

One element of the Tour which may not alter this year is the publicity caravan. Garishly decorated cars, run by sponsors, drive ahead of the peloton and have students throw key rings, hats and sweets at spectators on the roadside.

Authorities accept they cannot stop people standing outside their house. The Tour stages are so long (an average 200 kilometers) that crowds can spread out quite thinly along the route. At the start and finish of a stage, spectator numbers will be limited.

One of the joys of the Tour as a journalist is that you don‘t have to get entangled in the caravan. I barely saw it in 2012 as we took highways to get from the stage start to the finish and bypassed the country roads used by the race. We had to in order to set up at the press center (normally a school or local council office) in good time to file a winner bulletin.

Another aspect of the Tour will stay despite COVID-19. The hotels and the food. Given people book up hotels close to a finish line, and because the next day's stage may start a good distance away, I stayed in accommodation far from the race. This existing tradition will help spread people out this year.

I look back on 2012 and I can't remember a bad hotel. There was a chateau with amazing art on the walls, four poster beds and snails on the menu.

My French friends forced me to try…and with a bit of garlic it isn't half bad.

There was another night we rolled up late at our hotel in beautiful Burgundy. I spied a fast food place down the road. I was conscious I had been spending too much.

But a Frenchman said to me: "As far as anyone is aware, McDonald‘s is closed and the only place to eat is this Michelin star restaurant."

This year's Tour will be different, but it's essence will never change.