Mauro Veni, director of the Giro d'Italia, suggested that if the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic prevents the event from taking place in Budapest on May 9 as scheduled, the 2020 event could be held on a different date.

RCS Sport has already been forced to postpone the Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico, Strade Bianche, and Giro di Sicilia due to the spread of Covid-19 in Italy. Earlier this week, the whole of Italy was put on lockdown, banning all sporting events and public gatherings until at least April 3.

"We are trying to protect the start of the Giro d'Italia in Hungary on May 9, but there is the possibility of another date," Vegni told Adnkronos news agency (opens in new tab) on Thursday.

Hungary declared a state of emergency on Wednesday to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, banning large gatherings and travel from Italy, China, South Korea, and Iran, as the number of confirmed cases reached 13. 2020 Giro d'Italia, stage 4, Sicily There will be three stages on Hungarian roads before moving on to the island.

"We have spoken to the Hungarian authorities and we understand what is happening there. We have to understand that they are in the same battle against the virus as we are," Vegni said. 'Everything is up in the air, so now we are going to wait until April 3.'

Although Paris-Nice is a done deal, the bulk of the world tour calendar is likely to be canceled in the coming weeks. The Flanders government has announced the cancellation of sporting events through March 31, putting the Cobblestone Classic in serious jeopardy.

"We will wait until the end of the month to see what happens. I think we will completely reassess all our activities for the rest of the year. It's a difficult moment," Begni said.

Other sports have also been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak, and soccer's European governing body, UEFA, will hold an emergency meeting next week to discuss the growing backlog of Champions League matches and the prospect of postponing Euro 2020, which will be held in June, until 2021. They will discuss. Also unknown is whether the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be affected by the Covid-19 epidemic.

"We also have to understand what UEFA will do about the Euro 2020 soccer tournament," Begni said. The issue of scheduling for all sports is a huge puzzle that will be difficult to solve."