Strade Bianche, which had been due to take place on Saturday, has been cancelled.
It is hoped the races can be held later in the season but because of the growing coronavirus crisis in Italy it has been decided this weekend's scheduled men's and women's races will not take place.
There are now real fears for other imminent races in Italy and in other parts of Europe, including France where Paris-Nice is due to start on Sunday.
RCS Sport, which organises Strade Bianche, announced the decision to cancel the event after meeting with the authorities in the race's host city of Sienna on Thursday morning.
It means the women's and men's pro races that were both due to be contested on Saturday are off, as is the major sportive on the same roads that was due to take place on Sunday.
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“RCS Sport has agreed with the appropriate authorities to cancel the two cycling races scheduled for Saturday, March 7th: Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Women Elite,” RCS Sport said in a statement citing the coronavirus.
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“RCS Sport will
request the UCI, via the Italian Cycling Federation, to allocate a new date on
the international cycling calendar for Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Women
Elite.”
There are now real concerns for Tirreno-Adriatico from March 11th to 17th and Milan-San Remo on March 21st because of the coronavirus and because teams are expressing clear unwillingness to race in Italy at present due to the virus there.
That unwillingness has, for some teams, extended to France, including Paris-Nice, with teams such as Team Ineos and Mitchelton-Scott withdrawing completely from racing for at least three weeks.
On Thursday morning, just before it was announced Strade Bianche would not take place, AG2R-La Mondiale said it would not ride the upcoming Italian races.
"We are closely monitoring the coronavirus crisis, in close collaboration with Dr Eric Bouvat, the team's head doctor, and we are attentive to the decisions being made by the health authorities," said Vincent Lavenu.
“As the
team manager, I cannot risk the health and integrity of our staff when the
health situation is so unstable in Italy, and many legitimate questions have
been raised within the team.
“Sporting
interests should not overshadow prudence and wisdom when it comes to public
health. We are very sorry for the organizers of these legendary races and we
have informed them this morning of our decision."
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