MILAN — The Alpine skiing World Cup Finals and major Italian cycling races were among the latest sporting events to be canceled Friday because of the escalating virus outbreak.
The skiing finals in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, scheduled from March 18-22, were called off after an emergency International Ski Federation board meeting.
“It’s with great disappointment that I accept this decision,” Italian Winter Sports Federation President Flavio Roda said. “Every member of the board made their decision based on limitations that their respective governments have imposed in relation to the virus.”
The decision might keep Mikaela Shiffrin from winning the World Cup overall title for a fourth consecutive season.
Shiffrin recently fell to second in the overall standings because she took a leave of absence following her father’s death in early February. Earlier this week, she announced her return to competition, but the cancellation of the finals now leaves her only one set of races – in Sweden next week – to overtake Federica Brignone of Italy.
Two of Italy’s biggest cycling events – the Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo races, also have been canceled.
The Italian government issued a decree on Wednesday that all sporting events in the country must take place without spectators until April 3. That includes Serie A soccer.
Italy Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora wrote to the country’s soccer federation requesting all games this weekend be broadcast on free TV “considering the serious inconvenience affecting the population in this difficult time.”
A statement from Spadafora said he was still awaiting a response from Sky Italia, the satellite platform that shows most of the games domestically, and the Italian league.
Late Friday, the French soccer league announced the postponement of Saturday’s home match between Strasbourg and league leader Paris Saint-Germain following a decree from the Alsace city’s prefecture.
The Tirreno-Adriatico stage race has been held every year since 1966, while the Milan-San Remo one-day classic, which dates to 1907, has been stopped only in wartime.
The canceled races will have implications for riders’ preparations for the grand tours – the Giro d’Italia from May 9-31 and the Tour de France from June 27-July 19. The Tour de France is starting a week early this year to avoid conflict with the Tokyo Olympics.
Italy is the epicenter of Europe’s coronavirus outbreak. More than 150 people have died and more than 3,000 have been infected, mainly in the northern part of the country.
On Friday, Spain-based cycling team Movistar became the seventh team to suspend racing this month, including withdrawing from the Paris-Nice stage race that starts Sunday.
The governing body of rugby in Italy said it has suspended all activity, including training. It’s last two Six Nations matches against Ireland and England have already been postponed, and the women’s team has had its last three matches postponed.
Also, Danish soccer club Copenhagen said all of its games in March would be played without fans. The decision followed Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen saying events with crowds of more than 1,000 should be canceled or postponed because of the virus.
MEN’S BASKETBALL: Two NCAA Division III tournament games at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore were held without any fans.
Yeshiva University beat Worcester Polytechnic Institute 102-78 in a first-round game. Johns Hopkins played Penn State Harrisburg later Friday.
MEN’S LACROSSE: Boston University postponed a game against Bucknell scheduled for Saturday because several of its players are being treated for illness, the school said. BU’s roster includes Miles Lipton, a freshman from Cumberland who played for Waynflete and was a two-time All-State selection.
TENNIS: Organizers of the BNP Paribas Open, which starts Monday in Indian Wells, California, said that interaction between players and fans will be limited and players will be required to manage their own towels without the help of ball kids.
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