<p>PARIS — The Paris-Roubaix cycling race has been postponed until October because of the coronavirus pandemic, the International Cycling Union said Thursday.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The UCI said the men’s race will now take place on Oct. 3, a day after the women’s event.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>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 canceled last year because of the pandemic.</p>
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