RCS Sport announced the postponement of the upcoming Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, and Tour of Sicily. This follows the cancellation of the Strade Bianche men's and women's races on Thursday after the Italian government issued a decree canceling all sporting events in the wake of the Covid 19 coronavirus outbreak.

The decree called for all sporting events that cannot be held in the closed stadiums to be suspended until April 3. On Friday, the organizers of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali (March 25-29) announced the cancellation of the race.

"Following confirmation that the authorities concerned are unable to grant the appropriate authorization, RCS Sport announces the cancellation of the bicycle race 'Tirreno-Adriatico' scheduled for March 11-17 from its original schedule," read a statement released by RCS Sport. ...

"Furthermore, due to the confirmation by the authorities concerned that there are no adequate conditions to guarantee the provisions of the DPCM (Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic) of March 4, 2020, and to guarantee the protection of public health and the safety of all involved, RCS Sport has decided to cancel the Milan - San Remo scheduled for March 21 and the Tour of Sicily scheduled for April 1-4 have been cancelled."

RCS Sport went on to request the rescheduling of these races in addition to the already cancelled Strade Bianche; organizers of the GP Larchiano, Trofeo Binda, and Settimana Coppi e Bartali announced they would do the same;

"RCS Sport, through the Italian Cycling Federation, requests the UCI to allocate new dates in the international cycling calendar for these three races, as it has already requested for the Strade Bianche and the Strade Bianche Women's Elite."

The UCI has also requested the UCI to allocate new dates in the international cycling calendar for these races.

As of Friday morning, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control reported 3,858 cases of coronavirus infection in Italy, with 148 deaths so far.

The next major races to be held in Italy are the Tour de l'Alps (April 20-24) and the Giro della Appennino (April 26) at the end of April.

The Tirreno-Adriatico has been held 54 times since its creation in 1966. The Milano-Sanremo, now in its 111th year, was last cancelled in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.