Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Team Ineos) was one of the riders tested for coronavirus during the UAE Tour in the United Arab Emirates.

On Thursday evening, two Italian staff members from one of the teams were confirmed to be infected with the virus by race organizers, and everyone involved in the race, including athletes, staff, organizers, and media, is currently confined to a hotel in Abu Dhabi until the test results are available.

After the end of Thursday's fifth stage (won by UAE Team Emirates' Tadej Pogacar on the Jebel Hafeet climb), race organizers confirmed two cases of coronavirus infection and the remaining two stages of the UCI World Tour race, which was scheduled to end Saturday in Abu Dhabi The race was cancelled.

"It is unfortunate that the UAE Tour has been cancelled, but public health must come first," Froome wrote on Twitter. 'We are all awaiting tests and will remain in our hotels until further notice. We hope those affected recover as quickly as possible and that no more people are infected."

Test results for the riders are expected to be revealed later Friday or Saturday.

Froom's British compatriot Adam Yates was declared the default winner of the race, holding a 1:01 lead over Pogacar after stage 5.

Mitchelton-Scott, Yates' Australian WorldTour team, tweeted: "Due to the coronavirus, the final two days of racing have been cancelled. Riders and staff remain in their hotels and will undergo tests shortly, with their health status a priority. We hope that the affected riders will recover as soon as possible."

Meanwhile.

Meanwhile, Alex Doucette of Israel's Startup Nation team tweeted only that he "didn't see it coming," and New Zealand rider James Mitri, from the Italian pro team Vini Zabou-KTM, said, "UAE Thanks for the Tour, great race and time. Sorry to see the last day cancelled, but the health of the riders and staff comes first."