The Tour of the Emirates peloton - Massimo Paolone / AP / SIPA

The last two stages of the Tour of the Emirates scheduled for Friday and Saturday will not take place. Due, two runners of the peloton were contaminated by the coronavirus, one learned Thursday evening from the Emirati officials.

"The remaining stages of the UAE Tour are canceled after two Italian cyclists tested positive for the coronavirus," said the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in a statement to the official WAM news agency. The organizers have also indicated that all of the competitors will be tested to determine if they have also contracted the virus.

ANNOUNCEMENT: UAE TOUR REMAINING STAGES CANCELLED pic.twitter.com/kHGbvXq2w4

- UAE Tour Official (@uae_tour) February 27, 2020

At the end of the 5th stage won Thursday by the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, the head of the general classification was occupied by the Briton Adam Yates in front of Pogacar and the Kazakh Alexey Lutsenko.

Over 600 cases in Italy

Italy is the country in Europe most affected by the virus with 650 cases of infection recorded and 17 dead to date according to the Civil Protection of the country. "It's a shame that the #UAETour has been canceled, but public health must come first," tweeted Briton Chris Froome, four-time winner of the Tour de France, who made his return to competition in this race.

It's a shame that the #UAETour has been canceled but public health must come first. We are all awaiting testing and will remain at the hotel until further notice. I hope those affected make a speedy recovery and there aren't any further cases #coronavirus

- Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) February 27, 2020

"We are all waiting for tests and will stay at the hotel until further notice," he continued. I hope that those affected will recover quickly and that there will be no more cases of #coronavirus. " The United Arab Emirates has recorded 13 cases of contamination, three of which have recovered. The two most recent cases of infection are those of two Iranian nationals.

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