The new coronavirus has forced the largest global sports closure since World War II, and it will continue to affect professional cycling, but is expected to hit women's teams particularly hard.

Cycling News spoke with Ronnie Lauke, president of the newly formed team union called UNIO. He believes that some women's teams may not survive in the aftermath of the global pandemic, where business is struggling, sponsorship funding is being cut, and jobs are being lost.

"While I cannot say for certain how COVID-19 will affect other teams and their revenue streams, I do believe that our entire sport depends on the financial success of the sponsors who invest in professional cycling. Sooner or later, there will be some negative impact on our sport," said Lauke, who is also the owner and director of the top-ranked women's world team Canyon-SRAM.

"In the future, teams will disappear and others may reduce the number of riders. I see that happening in cycling, given that in the normal business world many people lose their jobs, can only continue on a part-time basis, have to accept a pay cut, or have to rely on government financial support. Our sports business can only remain healthy when the normal business world functions properly.

It has been reported that players and staff of several men's World Tour teams have volunteered for or been forced to accept pay cuts. For example, Astana asked for a 30% pay cut for its players, and Bahrain McLaren players received a 70% pay cut for the next three months. Players on Lot Soudal's men's team voluntarily waived part of their wages.

In addition, Dariusz Mirek, head of CCC, a major Polish shoe manufacturer that sponsors the men's team CCC and the women's team CCC-Liv, has reportedly been struggling during the pandemic and is considering cutting costs.

The UCI initiated reforms to professional women's cycling this year, including new financial requirements for top-ranked women's world teams to pay their riders a minimum salary of €15,000 (employed) or €24,600 (self-employed), along with benefits such as social insurance and maternity leave established.

However, only eight top teams are registered: Canyon-Slam, Allee BTC Ljubljana, CCC-Liv, FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope, Movistar Team Women, Team Sunweb, Mitchelton Scott, Trek Segafredo. There are 45 continental teams that do not have to pay wages to their players, some do, but many do not.

In February, Lauke helped launch the UNIO as a union representing several women's teams. The founding teams are his Canyon-SRAM, Boels Dolmans, Bigla-Katusha, and Parkhotel Valkenburg, but according to Cyclingnews, they now represent 12 women's teams.

Lauke said she is not aware of any women's team being forced to take a pay cut at this time or players being asked to voluntarily take a pay cut, but that could change since the teams rely almost exclusively on funds from sponsors.

"It is possible that in the near future we will have to adjust [player and staff salaries]; I don't know of any WWT teams that have already applied this," Lauke said.

"There are probably not many companies on the planet that can continue as before without being adversely affected by the situation caused by the virus. Ultimately, it will affect our sport, our teams, our riders, our staff, and everyone else involved."

Iris Slappendel, founder of the women's riders' union, the Cyclist Alliance, echoed Lauke's concerns about sponsors facing tough economic times and how this will affect the women's teams and riders.

"It's only been a few weeks, but you can expect a big impact on the teams not only this year, but next year as well," Slappendel told Cycling News.

"If COVID-19 causes many businesses to go under, sponsors will not be able to support their teams.

"Hopefully most teams and sponsors will find a way to survive and help each other. If they can't pay, there is no point in forcing companies to pay. The same goes for riders and their teams. I know that teams should not use COVID-19 as an excuse for not paying riders, but in general, everyone understands the difficulties and uncertainties, which I see as the most important characteristics of this sport."

Teams rely heavily on funding from sponsors and expect a return on their investment. Due to public health concerns over coronavirus, World Tour level races have been cancelled or postponed in China, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and lower level races have been cancelled worldwide.

Postponements and cancellations of the Women's World Tour include the Tour of Chongmin Island, Strade Bianche, Bebrising Ronde van Drenthe, Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Dreiderghe Bruges de Panne, Ghent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Ardennes Classics, and the Women's Tour. The IOC has also postponed the Tokyo Olympics until July 2021; the UCI announced Wednesday that all racing will be suspended until June 1.

The sports governing bodies are continuously providing updates on their websites regarding the cancellation or postponement of events due to the new coronavirus. At the same time, they are working with race organizers to determine rescheduling dates for postponed events and attempting to create a calendar for the second half of the season, with priority given to the three Grand Tours and the Monument.

If the women's team is unable to race at this time due to health concerns from the coronavirus outbreak, they will naturally be unable to fulfill their sponsor contracts. Cycling News asked whether some sponsors would invoke force majeure clauses (contingencies that prevent them from fulfilling their contracts), to which Lauke replied that this was a possibility.

"Since there is no standard contract between teams and sponsors, it is difficult to assume what clauses might be included in each team's contract. I believe that most sponsor partners include in their contracts the opportunity to pull out of their contractual obligations if a team is unable to fulfill the basics of their contract to race bikes."

All UCI Women's World Teams and Continental teams must provide a bank guarantee at the time of team registration. The bank guarantee is a percentage of the team's overall budget, and this amount is placed in an account blocked by the UCI and used to protect the rider's right to receive payment if the team fails to meet its obligations.

In the event of a scenario where a team is unable to pay a rider because the sponsor is in distress during a global pandemic or the sponsor exercises a force majeure clause, Lauke believes that the rider should have access to a bank guarantee.

"You can't rule this out," Lauke says. 'If they are not available during this period, a significant amount of money will be blocked and perhaps some will be life-threatening.'