CCC-Liv, concerned about the outbreak of new COVID-19 cases and the failure of other teams and race organizers to follow the UCI's COVID-19 protocol to ensure a virus-free bubble for their teams, has decided to withdraw from the first of the revised calendar of races to be held in Spain, the The race was withdrawn hours before the start.

Marianne Voss and Ashley Moolman Pasio were scheduled to lead the CCC-Liv in Thursday's Emmacmén Nafaroaco Classicoa and Friday's Classicoa Navarra, but before Sunday's Durango-Durango race, they stayed in a protective bubble in Spain decided to stay in a protective bubble in Spain before Sunday's Durango-Durango race.

Twenty-five teams, including seven women's WorldTour teams, will ride around Pamplona, with local resident and five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain leading the race.

The top three from last year's UCI Road World Championships will lead the race, with Annemiek van Fruten showing off her rainbow band for the first time since winning the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in March. She will be up against fellow World Championship medalists Anna van der Breggen and Amanda Spratt.

CCC-Liv is on the final start list announced by the organizers, but will not line up on Thursday.

"In recent months we have set very strict health protocols. All of this is to minimize the risk of contamination by COVID-19. But on Wednesday, the health risk in the Navarre region turned out to be too great," CCC-Liv director Eric van den Boom said in a statement from his team.

"We followed all protocols and we know from the daily health monitoring of our athletes and staff that none of us are infected with COVID-19. If we enter the race on Thursday, we will be in contact with athletes who may not have been tested for RT-PCR. Furthermore, the number of infected athletes at the race site has increased considerably over the past two days.

"After discussions with the team doctors, we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the start on Thursday and Friday. Instead, the riders will stay together in a sheltered team bubble in Spain. Unfortunately for all involved in the cycling team, the health of our fellow team members always comes first. We will start on Sunday in Durango-Durango."

Moolman-Pasio expressed his disappointment on social media.

"It's a shame not to be able to race today after weeks of hard training in anticipation. But I trust that @CCLivTeam made this decision with our health as a priority. Now it's time to stand up and do the right thing, not only for our own benefit, but for the greater good," Moolman-Pasio wrote on Twitter.

There was no initial reaction from race organizers after the CCC-Liv decision.

On Wednesday evening, the Cycling Alliance riders' association had warned about the risks of racing in the Navarra region of northern Spain and the lack of inspection of race staff and teams; the UCI had produced a detailed COVID-19 protocol, but the TCA said that the protocol had been followed noted that there was a lack of evidence that the protocol was followed.

The TCA warned that it had consulted with its medical advisors and "urges the Governing Body (UCI) to ensure that the risks of the race are reviewed as of today and a decision made as to whether this race should be conducted, as there are significant risks that may not have been adequately mitigated."

The average number of new cases of COVID-19 per day for Spain as a whole is only 18 per 100,000 population on a weekly average. However, according to the TCA, the number of infections in the Navarra region has reached 53 per 100,000 people per week. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the epidemic in the region is classified as Phase 4, or "sustained human-to-human transmission," or one level lower risk than a Phase 5/pandemic.

"We see the risk assessment for tomorrow's race as potentially being rated "high" and this, together with the following, has raised concerns with the TCA," the TCA wrote. "There is insufficient evidence that the Covid Protocol was followed and the team has not received a detailed risk assessment from the race organizers.

The Federation of Cyclists also stated that "not all teams have done the [COVID-19] RT-PCR test" required by the UCI protocol, adding: "We look forward to the race resuming tomorrow (Thursday) in Spain. We look forward to the race resuming tomorrow (Thursday) in Spain."

." It is very important that appropriate decisions are made when races with high risk factors are scheduled in order to ensure safety for the remainder of the racing calendar."