Jumbo and Mitchelton give up racing in Italy for the coronavirus

The Australian cycling team Mitchelton announced this Wednesday his resignation to take part in the two main races of March, the Pars-Nice and the Miln-San Remo, as a result of the new coronavirus epidemic.

The measure means the voluntary withdrawal of any race between March 4 and 22, a period that includes several male and female tests in various European countries: Italy (Strade Bianche, Industry GP, Tirreno-Adritico, Miln-San Remo, Binda Trophy), France (Pars-Nice), Blgica (Nokere) and Holland (Tour de Drenthe).

The International Cycling Union (UCI) and the organizers of the tests have been informed of the decision, said the Australian training that the British brothers have as leaders Adam and Simon Yates.

Mitchelton justified the measure with “the duty to care for and protect the health and well-being of runners and staff.” “We will not have any control over the measures that career organizers may or may not apply to control the risks related to COVID-19,” he added.

“The numerous displacements will increase the risk to health and will make the management of logistics, potential quarantine periods, etc. extremely difficult,” concluded the Australian team.

For its part, the Dutch formation Jumbo has given up participating in the races next weekend in Italy, especially the Strade Bianche and the GP Industry. “The goal should be to save most of the season, not a handful of competitions,” the statement said, which does not rule out that the same measure applies to other competitions also planned for March in Italy.