Most of the major men's and women's professional teams are currently in Spain for their January training camps, but COVID-19 cases are disrupting their training camps and threatening to disrupt critical preparation blocks and even early season race plans.

On Wednesday, Jumbo-Visma immediately closed its training camp near Alicante after team members were found to have tested positive in daily rapid tests.

"The doomsday scenario became reality," said Jumbo-Visma performance manager Mathieu Heyboer.

On Thursday, according to Belgian media reports, Sport Vlaanderen-Baroise discovered COVID-19 at the camp on the Costa Blanca, where five players and coach Walter Plancaire tested positive. They all drove back to Belgium, while the rest of the team members are now in pairs, eating and training separately.

The AG2R Citroën team also had four positive tests among its staff on Wednesday, but decided to continue its training camp near Alicante. The players are training in small groups and are required to wear FFP2 masks except when training or eating.

There are unconfirmed reports of other teams testing positive. Ineos Grenadiers had planned to share a hotel with another team near Alicante for their January camp, but chose to return to Mallorca and stay with a smaller group in order to limit the risk of contagion.

Peter Sagan and his brother Yulai tested positive for the second time last week and were unable to join their new team, Total Energies, in Spain.

At the Jumbo Visma hotel, those in close contact with the infected were quarantined, Steven Kruijswijk and Primos Roglic drove home to Monaco, while Roberto Gesink, Sepp Kuss, and Tobias Foss immediately returned to Andorra and continued training at home.

Ten riders, including Wout Van Art, chose to stay in Spain rather than train in the Belgian cold, but according to Het Laatste Nieuws, they rode 500 meters apart in training, team support was minimal, contact They had very limited team support and communication, and they tested every day.

Riders and teams are concerned about the impact COVID-19 will have on the 2022 season. Riders are not allowed to train outdoors while they are positive, and there are concerns about the physical damage COVID-19 will cause to the heart and lungs of elite athletes.

One WorldTour team told Cyclingnews that medical staff prefer to limit training for at least 20 days to aid recovery and avoid the risk of long-term physiological damage The UCI has not yet released medical protocols for 2022 Although it has not, in the past athletes had to undergo a series of checks and tests before competing in races.

The Tour Down Under and the Vuelta a San Juan have already been canceled, and teams fear that the Omnicrons will cause them to lose early season races.

The riders are aware that an extended interruption in training due to COVID-19 could ruin their early season campaigns.

"If we get infected here, it's no longer Plan A, and it's going to be a mental blow,"

"We're going to be in a position where we're not going to be able to do anything.

"If we have an incident within the next two weeks, it's a minor calamity. If the camp is interrupted, it would leave a void in the preparation for the Classic and would make it impossible to close it at home in Belgium."

Teammate Greg Van Avermaat revealed that he contracted COVID-19 in November when he was about to return to training and was quarantined at home for 10 days. The former Olympic champion is convinced that his second COVID-19 vaccination affected his performance in the second half of the 2021 season and has postponed his third vaccination until after the Classic.

"I think the timing of the vaccination is very important. I didn't do that last time and I don't want to make the same mistake.