Just a week ago, Daniel Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) was putting the finishing touches on a huge amount of training for a series of targeted races in the spring.

A week later, Martin is now sitting in the backyard of his home with his wife and two young daughters as he adjusts to life in captivity in Andorra. He is only allowed out of the house to buy food, medicine, and other essentials, and riding his bicycle on the road, on which he earns his living, is completely out of the question. The pro-cyclist is forced to live this way as communities around the world are shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite the disappointment of missing races like Catalunya, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Ardennes Classic, Irish climbers have moved on and realized that cycling is a pittance compared to what is happening in the world today.

"They were aggressive in shutting it down here, but it has been impeccably well received," Martin told Cycling News from his home on Saturday morning.

"I was a little surprised, I didn't know if I could run at the start, but they made the situation clear. He said we were the role model and we should stay in. But we need to face reality because at least we have our health. We need to be role models, do our part, and stay inside."

With no races, Martin is keeping in shape with Zwift and online training. Speed will be easier to maintain than endurance over the next few weeks, but at this point uncertainty is all over the place.

"I'm just starting to get back into training now, but it's hard to know when I'll be racing next, so it's hard to know how to plan," Martin told Cycling News.

"It's going to be really interesting because I've never been in a situation like this before, and I've been on lockdown for two weeks a lot, but you never really know how long it's going to last. I was really looking forward to the Catalunya and Basque races and I was getting better, so I was a little disappointed with the start.

Martín can envision scenarios where restrictions on outside riding are lifted in some countries but strictly enforced in others. For example, while outside riding is still allowed in the UK for now, the situation is quite different in mainland European countries. For Martin, the situation is more complicated, although some have questioned the two-speed Tour de France to be held later this year. Here again, he is taking a step back from the cycling bubble.

"With technology like Zwift, it's not bad to train inside. The problem is that in another week I will be able to train outside in Andorra, but in places like Italy or Spain, where the situation is much worse, it might be different. In some places the virus is in remission, in others it is not. So it's impossible to put a time limit on things. When you turn on the TV, people put up numbers, but the truth is, nobody knows what will happen"

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"In July, some countries in the world will still be completely blockaded. That will be normal. It's tricky because global travel could be affected for about 12 months. France and Spain will hopefully get through it, but the UK and others are weeks behind, and the US is even further behind. It will be some time before we will be able to travel freely. There are bigger things going on right now than bike racing. It's a big deal for everyone, and we need to get through it in the best mental state possible."