Cofidis team manager Cedric Vasseur, who will join the Giro d'Italia team for a few days this week, told L'Equipe on Friday that he believes race organizer RCS is doing everything it can to keep riders, team staff, and organizational staff safe from the coronavirus

"I believe we are doing everything we can to protect the safety of the riders, team staff and organizational staff from the coronavirus.

"I felt the measures were really respected," Vasseur said. The organizers have been very strict in preventing the race bubble from coming in contact with the tifosi."

"On Monday morning, when I was about to have breakfast at the hotel on my first rest day, the RCS control unit noticed that I was wearing a Cofidis shirt. I explained to her that I had already passed the required pre-test and was about to leave, but she never let me go and made me take the test again. I honestly have no criticism of them."

With COFID-19 positives on the rise across Europe, EF Pro Cycling manager Jonathan Vaughters suggested Thursday that this year's Giro should be cancelled with a second day of rest scheduled for Monday. Several riders, including Thomas de Gendt of Lotto Soudal, said they were "starting to feel the danger," but Vasseur had no such feeling.

"We are victims of a deteriorating health condition," he said. Under current conditions, it is impossible to maintain a 100 percent airtight bubble."

"I don't think there is much more we can do regarding the bubble. Anything more would create logistical problems and make it impossible to even hold the race. As it stands, we can't raise the bar."

"We can't raise the bar.

Asked what it would take for Vasseur to withdraw his team from the race, as Jumbo Visma and Mitchelton Scott had already done, Vasseur replied that any decision would be made after consultation with sponsor Cofidis.

"As soon as the race resumed, we discussed the possibility [of withdrawing from the race if a team member tested positive]. If only one person tested positive, our first priority was to isolate him immediately to prevent transmission to others," he said.

"If there are more positives (on the team), we will withdraw from the race, as Mitchelton Scott did, with the sponsors' consent.

"I'm not going to betray medical secrecy by saying we've already had to deal with an isolated case of COVID-19 on the team," Vassoul said. The main thing is to avoid an epidemic."

Like the rest of the team, Cofidis also tested positive on last Monday's rest day for Steven Kruijswijk of Jumbo-Visma, Michael Matthews of Sunweb, and staff members Mitchelton Scott, AG2R La Mondiale, and Ineos Grenadier. and have been undergoing further testing over the past few days.

"Our Giro team was tested last night (Thursday) at 7 pm.

"The overall situation will be tense, but we sincerely hope that the Giro will make it to the end.