Strade Bianche set for Saturday now at real risk of being cancelled

Strade Bianche 2020 is pencilled in for this Saturday but it looks like it is going to be cancelled. Even if it does go ahead it is likely some teams will not want to race because of the worsening coronavirus crisis in Italy

Having told pro cycling teams just 48 hours ago that
Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo would be going ahead as
planned, RCS Sport has now said that may not be the case.

The Italian sports promotion company has conceded that because of the rapidly changing situation with the coronavirus in Italy, the races may not happen; the number of cases of the virus in Italy increasing by more than 500 in one day to 2,600.

The first casualty would be Strade Bianche which, at the
time of writing, was still scheduled to go ahead on Saturday.

However, EF Pro Cycling has already contacted the UCI and
asked if it can be excused from the upcoming Italian WorldTour races.

Its riders are concerned about the coronavirus in Italy
and it wants to be allowed to skip the races without being fined by the UCI.

News that four riders appeared to be among the now eight
cases of coronavirus confirmed arising from testing at UAE Tour will do little
to calm the peloton as they face the prospect of racing in Italy; by far the
worst hit country in Europe.

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The Italian authorities have now told people in some
regions to leave one metre between themselves and other people in a bid to slow
down the spread of the virus.

The government is also considering closing schools for
two weeks and stopping all public events, including sports events, where people
are unable to stand at least one metre apart.

Race director of Strade Bianche and the other events,
Mauro Vegni, said accepts the races may not now go ahead.

"We're close to the dates for three big races -
Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo,” he told the Italian
media.

“We said a few days ago, our intention is to put on the
races and so put on a show for the fans.

"However, the indications from the scientific
committee leave little space for manoeuvre and if they are adopted by the
government we'll be forced to cancel the three races."

In the event they were cancelled he said RCS Sport would
work with the UCI to try and find new dates later this year for the events.