The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) announced on Sunday a series of measures to address the global coronavirus pandemic. The statement is a total suspension of all classification rankings on the UCI calendar worldwide until at least April 3, 2020.

"The UCI will maintain sporting equity for athletes by freezing points during the indicated period," the governing body said in the announcement, short of directly suspending all international races.

Most of the major UCI races scheduled up to that date have already been cancelled, with the few exceptions remaining on the UCI calendar being the US Mountain Bike Continental Championships and the Tour of Thailand.

Other measures announced include a request to cancel events in areas defined as "at risk" by the World Health Organization.

The statement added that the UCI would communicate "at a later stage" about the possibility of rescheduling the postponed race to a new date, but there is no guarantee.

Races hoping to be rescheduled for later this year include the RCS Sport Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, Milano-San Remo, and Volta a Catalunya.

Further measures taken by the UCI include the retroactive suspension of Olympic qualifying for mountain biking, BMX, and road paracycling. Qualifying will be determined by results through March 3. Qualifying for road and track in Tokyo has already been completed.

"The international situation related to the coronavirus has recently accelerated rapidly, especially in Europe, and it is forcing the authorities to take drastic measures that will have a significant impact on our sport in particular," said UCI President David Lapartiento. [In the face of this unprecedented and changing situation, we must adapt and take the necessary measures to guarantee, as far as possible, not only the equity of our sport but also the safety of those who participate in the Games.

"The strong decisions regarding the UCI International Calendar and Olympic eligibility have provided long awaited answers for those involved in our sport. The challenges we face in light of the current situation require all members of the cycling family and the Olympic Movement to be innovative, strong and united."

The UCI concluded its statement by calling for solidarity throughout the cycling family, adding that the organization will continue to monitor the evolving coronavirus situation.

"Finally, the UCI reiterates that it has full confidence in the competent authorities to stop the spread of the virus, and that the UCI will continue to fulfill its role as the governing body of cycling for our sporting family with the two priorities of health protection and sport equity. I reiterate that we will continue to do so.

"During these uncertain times, the International Federation will continue to monitor the situation closely and take appropriate action in the interests of our sport. I call on the solidarity of all to help us through this difficult time. "

UCI takes strong measures in the face of the coronavirus outbreak

Based on the World Health Organization's assessment of the current situation regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and the restrictive measures taken by many countries in Europe and beyond, in particular prohibiting rallies and movement of people, the International Union of Cycling Today we announce a series of decisive measures aimed at ensuring maximum protection for the health of all those who participate in cycling events and at ensuring sporting equity among participants

- without wishing to encourage the spread of viruses and with the aim of ensuring sporting equity in the events. Following several crisis management meetings held over the last weekend, the UCI has taken the following measures:

- As athlete safety is a priority mission of the UCI, organizers are expressly requested to cancel cycling events on the UCI International Calendar in areas identified by the WHO as potentially dangerous. The organizer is expressly requested to cancel any event on the UCI International Cycling Calendar in areas identified by WHO as dangerous.

- After March 15, 2020 and until further notice, all classifications will be suspended in all disciplines on the UCI International Calendar at least until April 3, 2020. By freezing points during this period, the UCI is attempting to preserve the fairness of the sport for athletes.

- in Mountain Bike, BMX Racing, BMX Freestyle and Para Cycling Road: ...... With regard to the ongoing qualifying procedures for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the UCI has taken the decision to request the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to suspend the qualifying period retroactive to March 3, 2020, respectively. Again, with this strong decision, the UCI is ensuring sporting equity with respect to the awarding of Olympic slots.

These important decisions ensure, as far as possible, the health safety of all involved, including cyclists, teams, organizers, partners, media, and the general public, and fair competition for athletes and their teams (commercial and national in the case of the Olympics) With regard to the UCI International Calendar, the UCI has registered more than 100 postponement and cancellation requests to date, and the list continues to grow daily. With regard to professional road cycling, the UCI has consulted with the organizations representing the organizers (AIOCC), teams (AIGCP), and riders (CPA).

With regard to the ongoing Olympic and Paralympic qualifying procedures for cycling, the status to date is as follows Given the uncertainty surrounding the spread of the virus, maintaining the originally scheduled qualifying period (May 11, 2020 for BMX Freestyle, May 27 for Mountain, June 1 for BMX Racing and June 7 for Paracycling) would be unfair to the nations. The UCI therefore decided to propose to the IOC and IPC that this procedure be discontinued as of March 3.

This decision was guided by the fundamental principle of equal treatment for all athletes and the importance of preventing the same athletes from having to constantly change their competition programs and training plans. And even though the IOC has granted all International Federations the possibility of extensions until June 30, 2020, ever-changing health conditions make the possibility of creating an alternate calendar for postponed competitions uncertain.

Furthermore, it must be made clear that 70% to 85% of the qualifying competitions in these disciplines have already taken place and the classifications considered for them represent the true sporting value. By taking this action, the Federation guarantees the integrity of its athletes and the equal treatment of all nations, and does not violate the principles of the Olympic Movement's qualification system.

This request has been submitted to the IOC and IPC in order to publish the Olympic rankings and quotas for the remaining disciplines as soon as possible.

Regarding the request to postpone the competition, the UCI will be contacted at a later date about the possibility of reallocating new dates based on the possibilities provided by the UCI International Calendar, but there is no guarantee of this.

In addition, with regard to UCI staff, the Federation is taking measures to comply with the new directive of the Swiss Federal Council adopted on March 13, 2020. For this reason, it has been decided to close the UCI World Cycling Center (WCC) building in Aigle, where the Federation's headquarters are located, to the public; for the 120 staff working for the UCI and the UCI WCC, they will start working from their home offices on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, and a business continuity plan will Implementation.

Finally, the UCI has full confidence in the competent authorities to stop the spread of the virus and that the UCI will continue to play its role as the governing body of cycling for our sporting family with two priorities: health protection and sport equity. I reiterate. During these uncertain times, the International Federation will continue to monitor the situation closely and take appropriate action in the interest of our sport. I call upon the solidarity of all to help us through this difficult time.