Alexander Kristoff won the opening stage of the Tour de France, the annual multiple stage bicycle race. Rain made the roads treacherous and led to several crashes. The Tour de France rolled out from the French Riviera city of Nice, two months later than planned and under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

 
After the European soccer championships and the Olympic Games were postponed to 2021, the Tour – delayed by two months – survived the COVID-19 pandemic.

   
Instead of the usual pulsating crowds, riders were greeted by an eerie silence as their names were read out on a stage.

   
A quiet crowd of a couple of hundred people, all masked, were kept 50 meters away behind metal barriers.

   
Since its inception in 1903, the race has only been canceled during the two world wars.

   
To ensure the 22 teams competing at the constantly traveling event remain virus-free, organizers have put in place stringent rules keeping them away from fans. The riders face a 186 km mountainous second stage today.