Cycling's former boss, Brian Cookson says the Grand Tours including the Tour de France should consider running only two weeks in 2020 if they want to find space in a season shortened by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Englishman was the UCI governing body president from 2013 to 2017, a post now held by Frenchman David Lappartient. He suggested grand tour organizers and everyone to be flexible given the Giro d'Italia has already already been cancelled from its original date and the uncertainty surrounding the Tour de France in its original dates, June 27 to July 19.

"A lot obviously depends upon the date at which the public authorities in the various countries say that sport can can resume," Cookson said. "We don't know when that is. I think it's optimistic to consider the Tour de France could take place on the dates that it was originally planned. Let's hope it can happen that way. It doesn't look to me like that's likely.

"If that can't take place, then I think everybody needs to be a bit more flexible. The organizers have got a big part to play here. They should look at taking the opportunity that's been given to them by the Olympics being posted, maybe they should think about reducing the length of the of the Tour and the Grand Tours to two weeks rather than three. If they want everything to take place in whatever remains available of the 2020 calendar."

For 2021, Cookson said the races could go back to their original format.

FloBikes tried to envision a cycling calendar that began with the Critérium du Dauphiné in June and the Giro and Monuments squeezed in at other times. However, time is running out for the season to re-start and countries like Italy and France have yet to even reach a peak number of Coronavirus infections.

"Let's be cognizant of those health issues, but let's also try and put as much as we can on and if that means changing similar things from what's been traditionally the case," added Cookson. 

"In other words, shortening some of the events, then maybe that's not a bad thing. And maybe we might learn some lessons for the future."