On the first day of the Vuelta a Burgos (the first major international men's race since March), opinions were divided within the peloton over the Israeli Startup Nation's decision to exclude two riders due to coronavirus concerns.

Yves Lampaert of Deceuninck-QuickStep praised the team for their clear and decisive action, while others felt the team had not done enough.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws (opens in new tab), the Movistar team felt that the Israeli Startup Nation should have withdrawn from the race altogether and made its feelings known to Israel's Spanish sports director, Oscar Guerrero According to the report.

Israel Startup Nation refused, claiming that it was not prudent because it was discovered that Itamar Einhorn had recently been in contact with teammate Omer Goldstein, who had tested COVID-19 positive. On the eve of the race, the team announced that Einhorn would not be participating, but on Tuesday, the morning of the opening stage, Alex Dowsett was also pulled, leaving the team with only five riders.

Einhorn, Dowsett, and many of the staff members who had contact with Einhorn were tested on Monday, but no results were available before the race started. All subsequently tested negative.

Movistar was reportedly "not subtle" in his plea to the Israeli Startup Nation, and Guerrero was asked to persuade the riders not to stand at the start.

"Maybe they reacted that way because they are afraid of Ben," Tom Van Asbrock said, referring to team leader Ben Hellmans.

"I think our team handled it very accurately and fairly, thereby avoiding a possible accident. During the race I spoke to several riders, including some from Movistar, and no one asked me any questions about the Corona."

"I was very impressed with the way the team handled the race,"

and "the team did a very good job.

Indeed, while Movistar was unhappy, some praised Israel Startup Nation's decision to remove two "perfectly healthy" riders.

"It's great that they took this approach and didn't try to hide things," Lampert told Het Laatste Nieuws. 'I think they did a good job of isolating the riders right away. Every team has to respond that way."