The UCI has suspended all events and classification on their international calendar across all disciplines until at least April 3.
The suspension of classifications is intended to preserve “sporting equity for all athletes” and will be backdated to March 3.
Road, track and para-cycling track qualification for the Tokyo Olympics has already been completed but is still ongoing for mountain bike, BMX racing, BMX freestyle and para-cycling road.
The UCI has therefore asked the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees to halt qualification as of March 3, as up to that date no nation had been prevented from travelling to events.
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Currently, organisers of the Tokyo Olympics expect the event to go ahead as planned, yet riders such as Mathieu van der Poel say they remain uncertain of this.
Away from the Olympics, RCS Sport have already said they will ask the UCI to reschedule their cancelled races at a later date this year, with Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan – San Remo and their Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, all called off as Italy attempts to halt the spread of coronavirus.
The UCI has said they will communicate at a later date whether this will be feasible and cannot currently guarantee the rescheduling of races.
In a statement, the UCI President David Lappartient said: “The international situation linked to the coronavirus has accelerated sharply recently, especially in Europe, which has pushed the authorities to take drastic measures that have a major impact on our sport in particular.
“Faced with this unprecedented and changing situation, we must adapt and take necessary measures to guarantee, as far as possible, the security of people at our events as well as sporting equity. With the strong decisions taken concerning the UCI International Calendar and the Olympic qualification procedure, we are providing the awaited answers for people in our sport.
“The challenges we face in light of the current situation require all members of the cycling family and of the Olympic movement to be innovative, strong and united.”
