Paris (AFP)
Any decision to cancel a cycling race due to the coronavirus will be made by the health authorities of the territories concerned, said Wednesday evening the International Cycling Union (UCI).
The international federation explained itself on the measures to be taken to "limit to the maximum any risk of propagation of the coronavirus", after having held Wednesday morning a meeting with the representatives of the organizers, the runners and the teams.
Among other measures are "the establishment of an increased distance between the public and the runners, in the start and finish areas in particular, and compliance with a rigorous medical protocol, which varies from country to country, including procedure for dealing with suspicious cases and providing a map of establishments that can carry out diagnostic tests for coronavirus ".
The UCI also mentions "the limitation of the number of teams accommodated per hotel, the respect of certain hygiene measures, to prevent for example during the signing ceremony of the starting sheet that all the riders are not in contact with the same pen. "
Several teams have already announced their package for the next races taking place in Italy (Strade Bianche Saturday), one of the European countries most affected by the epidemic. In particular the Dutch Jumbo and the French Groupama-FDJ, which evokes a lack of manpower (runners and staff) after the quarantine of 12 of its members in the United Arab Emirates until March 14 and also gives up Tirreno-Adriatico .
The Australian team Mitchelton for its part gave up all the races appearing in its program in Western Europe from March 4 to 22, mainly the Strade Bianche, Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo.
The UCI specified that it will take the necessary measures, "on a case-by-case basis, so that no team is penalized, either financially or when taking into account their sports results" in the evaluation of its status in 1st or 2nd division.
The federation chaired by David Lappartient specified that it was going to address each of the cycling families - teams, riders, organizers and national federations - "in order to indicate to them in detail the measures taken and the procedure to follow".
© 2020 AFP