“I took my decision to go,” said Asselborn to press, “I must first thank France for leaving borders open, and then to mark a certain determination not to be ‘embedded’ in a permanent fear of Covid,” the Foreign Minister explained further via a roadmap published on his Facebook page.
There are no hi-speed spikes, no special exploits, no records in mind, Asselborn is a renowned cycling enthusiast and has enjoyed a gentle cycle on the small roads of France for many years.
The real Tour de France, the world’s most renowned bike race, was postponed from its usual June start date this year because of the coronavirus epidemic, and is now scheduled to begin from Nice on August 29 and to arrive in Paris 21 stages later on September 20.
Asselborn has chosen a less gruelling route, but still an impressive one for an elderly diplomat who spent time in intensive care last year after a fall.
For his sixth round of France - the first being in 2015 - he chose a “course without complications”. “South from Neufchâteau on August 2, then Dijon and Aix-les-Bains to the Ventoux, then to Arles and Béziers and ending at Capendu and the Black Mountain,” he says.
Asselborn faces criticism for leaving the during the current situation, he says he’ll have his cellphone with him and be “contactable at all times”.
“I am well aware of this and I hasten to note that with the means of digital technology, one can be reached at all times.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Grand Duchy since 2004, Asselborn is known for being outspoken.
He memorably launched a furious broadside at the Italian Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini after a rather lively exchange on immigration at a European meeting in Vienna in September 2018.
