COVID-19 Spreads in Italy's Cycling Race

The director of the Italy Cycling Race, Mauro Vinni, announced today that all personnel and contacts of the competitors will be required to wear masks following the outbreak of the coronavirus in the race, which forced leading competitor Remco Evenepoel to withdraw. The Belgian Evenepoel withdrew from the race yesterday shortly after regaining the overall lead, following the withdrawal of Colombian Rigoberto Urán and Italian Filippo Ganna due to the virus. Vinni told the Italian newspaper "La Gazzetta dello Sport" on the first rest day of the race, "We relaxed the restrictions prematurely." Teams are not required to test their riders for the coronavirus, and even if there are infections, they are not obligated to withdraw the affected rider from the race. British rider Geraint Thomas will start stage ten tomorrow as the new race leader.