The Tour de France is set to be postponed after the French government said no mass gatherings can take place in the country before July 15 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The 107th edition of the Tour was set to begin in Nice on June 27 and conclude in Paris on July 19, but President Emmanuel Macron's announcement means it will not be able to do so.

Organisers ASO have already ruled out the idea of attempting to stage the race behind closed doors, and have been speaking to local authorities due to host stages about alternative dates.

The Giro d'Italia, due to begin in Budapest on May 9, has already been postponed.

Team Ineos' Egan Bernal won last year's Tour and the British team, winners of seven of the past eight editions, were expected to take a squad including three former winners to the start line in Nice.

Geraint Thomas, winner in 2018, was targeting the race, while four-time winner Chris Froome was making it the focal point of his comeback from career-threatening injuries suffered in last year's Criterium du Dauphine.