Australian cycling team Mitchelton-Scott announced Wednesday that it was pulling out of a series of major races
including Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo over coronavirus fears.

“We, as team doctors and the wider team, have a duty of care to protect health and well-being of all our riders and staff,” said the team headed up by the Yates twins, Adam and Simon.

“We will not have any input into, or control over, the measures that race organizers may or may not put in place to manage the COVID-19 risks.”

STATEMENT: Mitchelton-SCOTT position regarding COVID-19.

Following extensive discussions, we have made the decision to withdraw our teams from the next period of racing, regardless of the individual Government Regulations in place.

More details 👇https://t.co/nV8lbx0eG4

— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) March 4, 2020

The team will sit out races between March 4-22 in Italy (Strade Bianche, GP Industria, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, Trofeo Binda), France (Paris-Nice), Belgium (Nokere) and the Netherlands (Ronde van Drenthe).

“We are a moving, international logistical puzzle, with staff and riders travelling between different countries with different health systems and strategies around COVID-19,” the team added.

“Constant travel will increase the health risks and make management of logistics, potential quarantine periods, etc, extremely difficult.”

RBA/AFP Photos: Bettini