UAE Tour cancelled due to coronavirus fears, cyclists being checked | Sticky Bottle

*One of the ambulances outside a team hotel at the UAE Tour where all of the riders are now being checked for the coronavirus and the race has been cancelled*

UAE Tour has been cancelled because of the coronavirus and all riders in the race and team staff are tonight being checked at their hotels for the virus.

There have since been two confirmed cases of the virus on the race, with two staff members from an Italian team having testing positive for coronavirus.

"It’s a shame that the UAE Tour has been cancelled but public health must come first," said Chris Froome, the Team Ineos four-time Tour de France winner.

"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."

Team Jumbo-Visma, which had already won a stage of the race with Dylan Groenewegen, took to social media to say the event had been cancelled.

And the Vini Zabú-KTM team, which is also riding the race, said medical staff were checking all the riders and staff working on the race to assess if they had the virus following confirmed cases today.

The race was due to continue tomorrow with a flat stage that should have suited the sprinters and was set to conclude with another flat stage on Saturday.

It was expected that general classification results at the end of today's stage 5 would decide the 2020 event.

Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) was leading the event at the end of today and so he would be declared this year's champion.

Any rider testing positive for the virus was expected to be placed in quarantine for two weeks while anyone who is cleared was expected to be allowed to leave UAE on Saturday.

The cancellation of the race is the first major blow to cycling due to the coronavirus, though there are serious fears the Italian classics will be cancelled.

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Ireland's Sam Bennett and Eddie Dunbar were riding the race and were set to be tested, along with everyone else. More to come.

Following the cancellation of the #UAETour we are monitoring the situation closely. We will follow the guidance of the relevant authorities and support them in managing this situation. The health and safety of all staff and riders is paramount.

— Netcompany INEOS (@NetcompanyINEOS) February 27, 2020

Just woke up at 2am from a bad dream to messages of a bad reality. The #UAETour has been cancelled and everyone here has been told not leave our hotels as people at the race undergo coronavirus tests.

— Sophie Smith (@SophieSmith86) February 27, 2020

ISN update following the #Coronavirus situation : As we await further testing ,we asked our Israeli Rider Omer Goldstein to say a few words , addressing the situation. #UAETour pic.twitter.com/YSc53peRG3

— NSN Cycling Team (@NSNCyclingTeam) February 27, 2020

🇦🇪 #UAEtour

We have taken note of the cancellation of the UAE Tour due to the occurence of the coronavirus. We wish all the people involved the very best, awaiting further developments.

— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) February 27, 2020

#COVID2019 #UAETour Nell'hotel stanno venendo effettuati dei test.
In the hotel the local authorities are testing all the riders and the staff members #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/3y0YxZGLxg

— Vini Zabú - Pro Cycling Team (@ViniZabuProTeam) February 27, 2020