Deceuninck-QuickStep boss Patrick Leferet told Belgian media that he may not be able to keep his team alive until 2021 if the coronavirus problem means no race this year.

"If there is no race this year, I will no longer have a team," Lefebure told Sporza.be's "Extra Time Koers" television show on Wednesday.

"Fifty percent of the teams will disappear from the peloton. 'Team Ineos has a mountain of money and the French will get part of their salary back from the state. It will be less hard work for them, but my team will be in trouble."

"I'm not stupid. I am an accountant and have been in this business for 40 years." If the race goes away, a lot of cycling teams will die."

With the announcement of the new UCI calendar for the remainder of the 2020 season, starting with the men's and women's Strade Bianche on August 1, the cycling community was mixed, with some pessimistic about how many races would really be held and others simply excited about the prospect of racing again The reaction was. [I'm known as one of the most critical people in cycling. 'But I'm not going to complain about the calendar. With the way things are going, we should be humble and hope we can race again this year."

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Lefebvre also said that the team intends for Remco Evenpole to make his Grand Tour debut at this year's Giro d'Italia, which runs from October 3-25.

"We will stick to our plan that Evenpoel will compete in the Giro. Unfortunately, he is only 20 years old. If he were 37, it would have been a bigger deal," Lefebvre said.