With news that organizers were forced to cancel the next Women's World Tour race, Strade Bianche, scheduled for Saturday, Canyon-SRAM is considering how best to weather the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Canyon-SRAM owner and manager Ronnie Lauke told Cycling News that while the health and safety of the riders and staff is the top priority, they are closely monitoring the situation before making any concrete decisions on how best to plan the spring racing season He said he is keeping a close eye on the situation before making any concrete decisions on how best to plan for the spring racing season.

"It is indeed sad to see races cancelled because of Covid-19. The careers, health and safety of our riders and staff have been and will continue to be central to everything we do. We are working closely with our partner BG Klinikum Hamburg and are constantly seeking advice to ensure the aforementioned," Lauke told Cycling News.

RCS Sport announced Thursday morning that it had canceled the Strade Bianche men's and women's races after discussions with local authorities in Siena.

Organizers informed teams that Saturday's race would not take place due to a decree issued by the Italian government on Wednesday evening.

"We continue to closely monitor these outbreaks and are constantly informed by the Roberto Koch Institute and the international Foreign Ministry on how they spread and what travel is recommended. Any serious changes are, of course, immediately reported to our team and we adjust our plans," Lauke said.

"Currently, only individual small areas have travel advisories for China and northern Italy. Finally, it should be mentioned that, fortunately, most cases of infection with the Covid-19 virus do not produce symptoms or only mild bronchitis-like symptoms, and the probability of developing pneumonia is still very low.

"Right now, the team's management group is looking at different possibilities for how to proceed."

Rival team Mitchelton Scott announced Wednesday that it will withdraw immediately from all men's and women's races until at least March 22 in light of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Europe.

The women's team will miss three Women's WorldTour races: Strade Bianche (March 7), Ronde van Drenthe (March 15), Trofeo Binda (March 22), and Danilis Nokele Coase (March 18).

Public health and safety are the main concerns, but so far the Women's World Tour has lost Strade Bianche and the Tour of Chongming Island, and possibly Trofeo Alfredo Binda, all of which could be postponed to a later date due to risks associated with the spread of the coronavirus.

In addition to this, the Emakmen Vila, Tour of California, and Prudential Ride London Classic are already missing from the 2020 calendar for other reasons.