UAE Team Emirates manager Jocsen Fernandez, aka "Matosin," is back in Spain after undergoing a voluntary coronavirus quarantine in the UAE following the cancellation of the last leg of the UAE tour in February. In an interview with Ciclismointernacional.com (opens in new tab), Fernandez said that while two of the team's four coronavirus cases, Fernando Gaviria and Max Riches, are still in the UAE waiting for permission to return home, the sport is a public health Recognizing that it is secondary, he reflected on the team's early season performance and the rest of the year's races.

Gaviria has tested negative in several tests in recent days, and there are reports that he could return home as early as Monday, but Fernandez declined to provide an update for privacy reasons.

"This is a personal matter and they have made it public themselves. Out of respect, I think it is best that they speak, not me."

After the coronavirus cases were identified, the entire UAE Team Emirates player group waited several weeks to make sure everyone was virus-free.

"It was really a voluntary quarantine. But [team principal] Mauro Gianetti made the decision and we supported him." It was the perfect place to spend those few days. Everyone was good to us."

The team was very happy to be there.

Although the UAE Tour seems as far away as last season, despite being less than a month after the race, the team's performance this season and in the second half of last season has been remarkable compared to the early days of its transition from the defunct Lampre team to the current, revamped team Progress has been made.

Gaviria won three stages at the Vuelta a San Juan, and Tadei Pogacar won the overall at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana.

"We were on the rise, not only in terms of results, but also in terms of confidence," said Fernandez. Our responsibility and role in the race has grown and will continue to do so. The group has grown a lot. Unity is the key."

On stage 3, Adam Yates escaped with 7km remaining to Jebel Hafit, denying Pogacar the chance to win the overall. Yates was very strong that day. When he attacked with 7km to go, I knew I could stay with him. Taddeusi came pretty close to him, but Yates was much stronger and there was nothing else to do. When someone gets strong, you just congratulate them and find a replacement like we did later."

Gaviria did not have much luck in the sprint, but Fernandez dodged questions about whether the coronavirus had affected him before the race was stopped. Troia, Bystrom, and Riches supported Fernando, showing that he was there to win and was strong." We also used Pogacar, Formolo, and Ulissi for the mountains."

However, the infection of UAE Team Emirates and Gazprom Rusvelo was the first hint of how devastating the pandemic could be to the World Tour.

More races have now been canceled than rescheduled, and the Giro d'Italia is closed. What happens if the Tour de France is also postponed? Some speculate that if the Tour de France were to take place, it would be "run at two speeds."

"It is clear that unequal competition is against the concept of sport, but circumstances are circumstances," Fernandez said. 'And if some are better trained than others, some will have to delay their schedules, while others will reap the benefits of being more competitive from the start.'

"Preparation is done whenever possible. If you can't get on the road, you have to do more rollers. They have to have more willpower and mental strength because they lose strength on the rollers. Running for 2 hours on rollers is harder than running for 4 hours outside. Motivation isn't the same, and anyone can spend an easy moment on the rollers so they can train their brains."

Fernandez said that doing 11 hours on the trainer, as Lawrence de Vries did on Friday, is "too much."

"Eleven hours is excessive, even on the road. Everyone knows what they have to do and what they have to do.

"I think we will all be penalized in some way. Some won't be able to compete, some won't be able to train. To know who is advantaged or disadvantaged now is to speak of individuality. We have to look for the common good, but the advice given in most countries is to stay at home and respect that."