Kiwi cyclists caught up in coronavirus scare
Three Kiwi cyclists have been caught up in the global coronavirus outbreak, with the UAE Tour — a highprofile cycling race in the United Arab Emirates — being cancelled after two staff members were confirmed to have been infected with the virus.
Shane Archbold, Jack Bauer and James Mitri were all competing in the UAE Tour, but after stage five was completed, the trio were told to stay quarantined in their hotel to undergo tests.
All riders and staff involved in the tour, as well as media and event staff, have all been told not to leave their hotel, as fears emerge that the virus could spread among the cycling community.
The riders had earlier finished the fifth and decisive stage of the race, where the overall results are now likely to stand after the final two stages were called off.
“The decision has been taken to ensure protection of all the race’s participants. Safety comes at the top of all priorities,” the tour organisers said.
“In the meantime, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said that all the race’s participants, administrative staff and organisers will be examined through the continuous periodic screening being conducted.
“All needed procedures, including quarantine measures, will be taken to ensure viral suppression and curb the spread of its outbreak in coordination
with all health and other authorities concerned in the country.”
Bauer’s Mitchelton-Scott team tweeted that “Riders and staff remain in the hotel and will be tested shortly, with their health taking priority’’ while Archbold’s DeceuninckQuickStep squad wrote that “All involved are awaiting testing in the hotel, but our riders and staff remain in good spirits’’.
Mitri’s Vini-Zabu KTM squad revealed that their riders have been tested.
“Tomorrow morning we will know the results,” the team tweeted. “It’s gonna be a long night and we hope that everyone will come back home without any trouble.”
An estimated 20 cases of the coronavirus have been discovered in the UAE so far.
Meanwhile, the beleaguered New Zealand boxing team arrived in Jordan yesterday, being whisked through Customs and avoiding quarantine.
The good news ended there. But their bags didn’t arrive, piling another disruption on top of what had
been an almost comically bad-luck lead-up.
The team was only in Assisi, Italy, because they had to be spirited out of a training camp in Thailand when the coronavirus first hit. They were there to prepare for a qualifying tournament that was to be held in Wuhan, China, the original epicentre of the virus.
The relative safety of central Italy turned out to be far from that as the virus hit the country.
Nearby states, including Israel, started to close their borders to travellers from Italy and Jordan instituted a 14-day quarantine for non-Jordanians entering the country. The New Zealand team avoided that fate.
The team spent close to a day-anda-half getting out of Italy and into the Arab state.
The 11-strong team preparing for the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers that start on Wednesday.
Heavyweight David Nyika and light-heavyweight Jerome Pampellone are New Zealand’s best hopes to qualify for Tokyo Games. If they fail to qualify from the Jordan tournament, there is a difficult finalchance opportunity in Paris in May.
The decision has been taken to ensure protection of all the race’s participants.
UAE Tour organisers