UCI postpones three upcoming Chinese races due to coronavirus outbreak
Races affected include the Tour of Chongming Island
The UCI has postponed three upcoming Chinese races due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Tour of Chongming Island, the Tour of Zhoushan Island and the women's Tour of Taiyuan, planned to take place in April and May, are the races that have been postponed. Cycling's governing body will now decide on March 15 which races will be cancelled and which races will have space found for them in the calendar later in the year.
75,000 cases of coronavirus have so far resulted in over 2,000 deaths, with the cancellation of bike races and other sporting events one of many measures being taken to try and halt the spread of the virus.
In a statement, the UCI said: "The UCI is following the evolution of this epidemic and the potential consequences for the organisation of international competitions on a daily basis. It is also concerned with protecting riders from all risk of contamination and avoiding the spread of coronavirus to other countries."
In January the week-long Tour of Hainan was postponed because of concerns over the virus and the UCI has approved the race's date change from late February to another date in 2020 depending on calendar availability.
>>> Chris Froome: ‘It feels like I’ve been given a second chance’
At the time of the postponement, Israel Start-Up Nation said in a statement the decision was "totally understandable. The world is a global village, for good and for bad."
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Meanwhile, the Malaysian Tour de Langkawi stage race saw a number of Chinese teams pull out, with all other staff and riders made to undergo health screening upon entering the country.
Any riders or team staff arriving from China were made to have full medical check-ups and their medical records were examined, while facemasks and hand sanitiser were provided to all people working at the race as an extra precaution.
The one remaining Chinese team, SSIOS Miogee, were able to take part as they didn't use any Chinese riders and staff. Two of their Dutch riders had to arrive with last season's kit and bring their own gels and nutrition from home and hire replacement team staff from the south-east Asian peninsula.
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Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022.
I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
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