Patrick Lefebvre, team manager of Deceuninck-QuickStep (open in new tab), saw how Novak Djokovic's social distancing and lack of health procedures caused many infections during his recent tennis tournament, and is now looking forward to his July He is concerned about his early return to road racing and the risk of COVID-19 coronavirus infection.

The men's World Tour will return with the Strade Bianche on August 1, but other minor races will be held earlier. Vermark Sport is the racewear sponsor for Lefevere's team, and riders such as Dečuninck Quick Step, Lot Soudal, and Alpecin Phoenix are expected to participate, but the exact lineup has yet to be confirmed.

Primoz Roglic won last week's Slovenian road race in front of a large crowd, but there was no indication that he followed the UCI COVID-19 guidelines.

Official tennis competition was suspended, but a number of players and staff, including Djokovic, tested positive after two matches at the Adria Tour in Serbia and Croatia.

In a statement, Djokovic said, "Words cannot express how sorry we are about this and all the cases of infection. We believed that this tournament met all health protocols and that our community was in good health. We were wrong and too soon. We cannot say how sorry we are for this and all the cases that were infected."

With multiple clusters in various European countries, Lefebvre is concerned that July may be too early for a return to cycling.

"My worst nightmare is that July races - like tennis - will lead to infections," he wrote in his weekly column in Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab).

"I would like to believe that Novak Djokovic is organizing the tournament with good intentions, but without precautions there will be bad consequences.

"Let this be a lesson for all the bike races starting again in July. They (the COVID-19 cluster) are growing like mushrooms right now, and I hope that adequate attention is paid to prevention."

Deceuninck-QuickStep recently held a small training camp in Belgium, and Lefebvre suggested that the athletes are on alert.

"Our riders were young, too, and we hadn't seen each other for a long time, but in the evening, after dinner, everyone went straight to their rooms.

"I've said it before, but in racing it's sort of second nature to be concerned about hygiene and contamination risks. In tennis, with some of the wealthiest sponsors in the world, you might think you are untouchable."

While several teams have formed different bubbles for training camps depending on their race programs and objectives, the 50 athletes and staff of Dečuninck-Quickstep will be in the Italian Dolomites for a high-altitude training camp from July 6-23.

"Having a group camp allows the whole team to be in the same bubble. I think that is the safest and most transparent approach," Lefebvre suggested.

"Other teams may distinguish between different programs, but we want to keep everyone together for the time being. We also plan to test them regularly in the coming weeks."