George Bennett (Jumbo Bisma) may not be allowed to ride his bike or go out to buy more groceries than he needs, but the Kiwi climber and his girlfriend, Caitlin Fielder, are living a life sealed off by the coronavirus, keeping spirits high and trying to broaden their horizons.

They currently live in Andorra, where cycling is banned. Bennett can still shop for food, but his riding is limited to online training and racing, and Fielder is killing time with her cycling business. She is currently inundated with orders from top riders such as Primoz Roglic and Luis Leon Sanchez

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Under normal circumstances, Bennett would be competing in the Catalunya Volta with her eyes on her biggest goal of the season, the Giro d'Italia. However, both races have been removed from the calendar, and Bennett's days are now spent training indoors and talking to contacts back home. Bennett has not ruled out the possibility of returning to New Zealand, but at present it may be safer to stay in Europe.

"Every day, I spend the first two hours looking for updates and talking to people in New Zealand," Bennett told Cycling News, asking about the format of a typical day during lockdown.

"I have a few key contacts back home and I'm keeping my ear to the ground about whether or not to return home. We want to get through things here, but we know that if the world finally comes to a halt and things get worse than we can imagine, we want to go home to our families.

Central to our concerns about Bennett's departure are travel restrictions and, of course, the increased likelihood of contracting the coronavirus by traveling to the southern hemisphere with Fielder, who recently underwent surgery.

"The big concern we have is the travel ban and flights starting to break down. We are trying to do this as late as possible. It's tough to fly long distances without having all the information you need. My girlfriend just had hip surgery, so going through the airport is not ideal and she might pick up a virus. She would have to go through quarantine at home as well, but that's not really a problem.

After the morning update, Bennett turns his attention to training. His Jumbo Visma team is excellent at supporting its riders physically and mentally, but Bennett still needs to stay in relative good shape for the time being. Fortunately, he is not alone in Andorra; there are several riders nearby. They can pass the time with online group riders, but the online format is usually not for skinny goats like Bennett.

"Then I try to ride on a trainer for a while. Otherwise I get pretty professional and waste a lot of time; I might go to a Zwift race and get my head kicked in," he jokes.

"I haven't made the top 10 in a race yet. It's hard, living at 2,000 meters doesn't help, but the team has told me I'm not going to be racing for a long time. They tell me not to worry too much about training, not to lose too much weight, because one day I will have to train really hard. And when that happens, you'll really need a bullet for when that happens. So I do what I can and have fun doing it." [Normally for me, trainers are literally what I use when I can't run outside, but the team is great. They focus on our mental and physical health and encourage us to keep cycling in the back of our minds to get through this. "

One of the biggest challenges is dealing with the level of uncertainty surrounding the virus and the long-term nature of some of the measures being taken by the authorities. Bennett still has 10 days of lockdown left, but there is a real possibility that these restrictions could be extended for a longer period of time.

"At this point, we are locked indoors for another 10 days, but the realistic outcome will come when we are told that we may have to be locked indoors for another month or six weeks. That's when you might as well try to get home. It's just not as easy as getting on a plane," he says.

Although the race has been canceled for the time being, there is talk of several events resuming in June. Given the current situation and the rate at which major sporting events are being removed from the calendar, that seems optimistic. Even the Olympics, the world's largest global sporting event, has been forced to postpone the Tokyo Games this summer.

Bennett is aiming for a June return, but is aware that this could be reversed. However, Bennett is aiming for a June return, but knows it could be overturned.

"You want to focus on other things, but you can't be a great professional cyclist without being optimistic. The best case scenario is that we have a race in June, but if we think we have a race in August, you know it's going to be a total dogfight if we have a race in June, if we're not ready in June, it's going to be a really tough season, and we're going to be ready for June."

As a professional athlete, it is also difficult to process emotions about the virus and its effects. Bennett, like other members of the peloton, will be suspended for all of 2020, and the New Zealander would have had a great opportunity and responsibility to lead Jumbo-Visma in the Giro d'Italia in May. While the loss of that chance is obviously a blow, Bennett fully understands the seriousness of the pandemic and the truly important implications that come with it.

"I feel bad that I'm upset about not having a bike race, but it is what it is," he says.

"Something like the Giro was a great opportunity for me, and there is talk of the Giro starting in late May, but there is no chance of that happening. I don't think the Olympics are going to happen, and then maybe the Tour de France in August. It is going to be really tricky and it will be interesting to see who comes out of this. Some are naturally talented, but some need to shut things down and train really hard.

"I will never forget this moment. Even though I am disappointed that the race was cancelled, I can respect the rules. There are millions of people stuck at home right now."