• Navarra Elite Classics: a convoluted start

On March 13, a day before the State of Alarm was decreed in Spain, Nairo Quintana won the penultimate stage of Paris-Nice in Valdeblore, which no longer held its final day. It was already a private race, conceived as behind closed doors, without an audience and limiting contact between cyclists, auxiliaries and the rest of the staff. A pilot test, it was said, for what might come later - especially thinking of the Tour de France -, at that time still unimaginable.

Since then, four and a half months, top-level cycling has been submerged in a total hibernation that ends this afternoon in Spain, with the start of the Vuelta a Burgos. A test that has served in recent times as a set-up for the Tour of Spain, with a mix of leading and modest teams, but this time it is the spearhead of world cycling.

Yes, there has been a minor test already, such as the modest Tour of Sibiu in Romania and some national championships in Eastern Europe, but none is close to the impact of the Burgos test, in which 14 of the 19 teams that make up will line up. the UCI World Tour: all but Ag2r, Cofidis, Education First, Lotto and Sunweb.

"It will be the best ever"

The corsage of stars present in Burgos, consequently, is bulky. Movistar will date Alejandro Valverde , Enric Mas and Marc Soler ; Ineos, with Iván Ramiro Sosa and Richard Carapaz ; Bahrain, with Mikel Landa and Pello Bilbao ; Mitchelton, with Simon Yates and Esteban Chaves . The illustrious list is completed by the world champion, Mads Pedersen , Remco Evenepoel , Fernando Gaviria , Arnaud Démare , Rafal Majka , Fabio Aru ... Without a doubt the highest quality squad ever seen in this test. "It will be the best Tour of Burgos in history," says César Rico , president of the Provincial Council, who is the organizer of the race.

But although the hunger for cycling is maximum for a devout hobby to which the pandemic has taken away the best months of the calendar, never before has it seemed so secondary who can take the first stage that leaves the Burgos Cathedral today or who will succeed at Picón Blanco (Thursday) and Lagunas de Neila (Saturday, the last of the five stages). The focus will inevitably be on the health development of the race and on how cycling is able to adapt to the demands set by the pandemic and concentrated on the protocol designed by the UCI.

All the participants have undergone two tests to be able to be on the road, one six days before and the other three, which will be the trend in all races. Each team will live in their own bubble, in this case also in the same hotel during the five days, and there will only be contact between them during the test itself. To access the signature protocol, you must pass a temperature test and wear a mask. Launching drums will be prohibited except in areas exclusively enabled for this function and physical contact with agents outside the teams, including sponsors, VIPs and journalists, will be void.

Security guards

Yes, the presence of the public will be allowed on sidewalks and ditches, although with many limitations - arrivals on high will not be accessible by car or motorcycle - and with security guards controlling the capacity and respect for social distancing measures. and hygienic protection.

The theory for a safe and successful return, therefore, is clear and she clings to cycling from today to complete the remainder of the season and thus cushion as much as possible the blow that has caused the pandemic to the always fragile economies cyclists and their sponsors. Practice, however ...

One month after the start of the Tour - the great jewel to save, whatever the cost - a climate of growing pessimism is being installed in the teams, fueled by recent cancellations such as Québec and Montréal in Canada and Fourmies and Paris-Bourges in France. Or because of decisions such as that of the Italian Government to impose quarantine on cyclists who have been racing on the Romanian Tour de Sibiu.

The very nature of cycling, with more than 150 athletes competing side by side for several hours, invites pessimism. It is obvious that a single positive case in one race would force its immediate cancellation, to isolate the entire squad, those who had participated with the infected in another race a few days before ... A cascade of decisions that would put the entire team at risk. calendar designed by the UCI, with Tour, Tour and Tour still pending. Just in case, it is better to enjoy the Tour of Burgos.

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