Coronavirus and pro sport

redvision

I know this has been mentioned within other threads but thought it deserved its own, given how quickly things seem to be developing - or should I say deteriorating.

So looks more and more likely Milan san remo is going to follow the UAE tour and be cancelled, and of course lots of other sporting events have already been affected. So what are the prospects for the rest of the 2020 sporting calendar? Unless a vaccine can be developed quickly (which is apparently highly unlikely) will every major event/ series/league be cancelled??

Focusing on cycling, and assuming the worse case scenario - that the calendar is cancelled, what will it mean for riders like Froomey - coming back from major injury, or those in the final year of a contract who needed this season to get a ride for next year?
For teams? (As in those which live on a financial shoestring and need a strong season each year to generate sponsorship to survive etc)

Anyway, thought it was a good topic for discussion and interested to hear predictions/ views.

And my thoughts are with all those who have been affected by the virus.

ocdupalais

I thought that large scale sporting events with an appeal to a mass audience evolved as a means to divert attention away from tedious, arduous and pox-ridden short lives...

blazing_saddles

ocdupalais said:

I thought that large scale sporting events with an appeal to a mass audience evolved as a means to divert attention away from tedious, arduous and pox-ridden short lives...

Yeah, I wonder why when the mass gathering of 25,000 children and young folk in Bristol today is reported as being praiseworthy, rather than irresponsible.

gsk82

blazing_saddles said:

ocdupalais said:

I thought that large scale sporting events with an appeal to a mass audience evolved as a means to divert attention away from tedious, arduous and pox-ridden short lives...

Yeah, I wonder why when the mass gathering of 25,000 children and young folk in Bristol today is reported as being praiseworthy, rather than irresponsible.

Because that event attracts the children of media types?

Pross

I assume that at some point the virus will have spread widely enough that it will no longer be worthwhile quarantining people. It doesn't seem to be particularly bad in terms of mortality and we don't cancel everything when there's flu going around so leave people to get it, in most cases suffer mild illness for a few days and get immune (until it mutates).

blazing_saddles

Delete

No_Ta_Doctor

Pross said:

I assume that at some point the virus will have spread widely enough that it will no longer be worthwhile quarantining people. It doesn't seem to be particularly bad in terms of mortality and we don't cancel everything when there's flu going around so leave people to get it, in most cases suffer mild illness for a few days and get immune (until it mutates).

It's pretty deadly if you're old. This isn't the flu.

I think we'll see a lot of sporting cancellations coming. I wouldn't be surprised if this weekend's racing was pretty much what we get from the season.

Pross

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Pross said:

I assume that at some point the virus will have spread widely enough that it will no longer be worthwhile quarantining people. It doesn't seem to be particularly bad in terms of mortality and we don't cancel everything when there's flu going around so leave people to get it, in most cases suffer mild illness for a few days and get immune (until it mutates).

It's pretty deadly if you're old. This isn't the flu.

I think we'll see a lot of sporting cancellations coming. I wouldn't be surprised if this weekend's racing was pretty much what we get from the season.

A virologist on the news earlier said that whilst not a lot is known about it yet it appears fairly mild and virtually all those who have died had underlying health problems. His implication was that it kills the same sort of people who die from the flu. Trying to quarantine seemed sensible at first and did seem to be containing things but the genie seems to be getting out of the bottle now and there must surely reach a point where quarantine is pointless?

hommelbier

Meanwhile back in the UAE
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/28/i-woke-from-a-bad-dream-to-a-worse-reality-we-were-in-lockdown

pblakeney

Pross said:

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Pross said:

I assume that at some point the virus will have spread widely enough that it will no longer be worthwhile quarantining people. It doesn't seem to be particularly bad in terms of mortality and we don't cancel everything when there's flu going around so leave people to get it, in most cases suffer mild illness for a few days and get immune (until it mutates).

It's pretty deadly if you're old. This isn't the flu.

I think we'll see a lot of sporting cancellations coming. I wouldn't be surprised if this weekend's racing was pretty much what we get from the season.

A virologist on the news earlier said that whilst not a lot is known about it yet it appears fairly mild and virtually all those who have died had underlying health problems. His implication was that it kills the same sort of people who die from the flu. Trying to quarantine seemed sensible at first and did seem to be containing things but the genie seems to be getting out of the bottle now and there must surely reach a point where quarantine is pointless?

Until a treatment is found, I'd stick with plan A.
Trouble is that we have to shut down completely today, or it is pointless as you say, and I don't think the decision makers are prepared to make that decision.
The genie is out of the bottle and it will play out the way it decides, not us.

RichN95.

hommelbier said:

Meanwhile back in the UAE
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/28/i-woke-from-a-bad-dream-to-a-worse-reality-we-were-in-lockdown

Journalists: "We are in lockdown. I am in the middle of pandemic, which is basically a war zone. I may die but I will continue reporting. Remember my bravery when prizes are awarded"

Cyclists:

https://twitter.com/deceuninck_qst/status/1233479209928011776

awavey

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Pross said:

I assume that at some point the virus will have spread widely enough that it will no longer be worthwhile quarantining people. It doesn't seem to be particularly bad in terms of mortality and we don't cancel everything when there's flu going around so leave people to get it, in most cases suffer mild illness for a few days and get immune (until it mutates).

It's pretty deadly if you're old. This isn't the flu.

I think we'll see a lot of sporting cancellations coming. I wouldn't be surprised if this weekend's racing was pretty much what we get from the season.

no flu is pretty deadly when you're old too, at least 500,000 people die from it every year,thats why we have vaccination programmes for it.

the problem is when you get older you end up with alot of other ailments, some of which involve taking medication that surpresses the immune system to stop it fighting the stuff you are taking for the really nasty other conditions youve got, that means you are then far more susceptible to stuff like flu, and any chest infection can kill you

redvision

The difference with this though is the lack of a vaccine. Yes flu kills thousands a year, but it would kill far more if a vaccine wasn't available.

The experts are saying it could take anything up to 18 months before a vaccine is available for coronavirus, so if it continues to spread rapidly you can see why concerns are growing.

I genuinely think the sporting calendar is going to be wiped out. We have already seen how it is affecting events, and, according to the press, the Olympics and even the remainder of the football is under threat. I fear it will be a domino affect, when one major sporting event gets suspended or cancelled everything will.

bobmcstuff

Be very Liverpool if they manage to not win again as the league was cancelled...

mrfpb

its a plot by Man City to stop Liverpool winning the Prem League

Mad_Malx

I assumed it was a plot by Ineos so that Froome doesn't get tested

gweeds

All the tests at the UAE tour have come back negative so people are being allowed to leave.

blazing_saddles

Further to what I was alluding to yesterday, France have now banned indoor gatherings of more than 5000 people.
More significantly, Sunday's Paris half marathon has been cancelled.

The odds on Paris - Roubaix taking place this year just got a whole lot longer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51690657

gweeds

Indoors though?

gsk82

gweeds said:

Indoors though?

Oh FFS. Is Paris - Roubaix going to be raced on Zwift.?

blazing_saddles

Interesting to read the views of Omloop race director, Scott Sunderland:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/flanders-classics-keen-to-avoid-hysteria-over-coronavirus/

gweeds

Here’s some detail on the French government’s decision to cancel/postpone sporting events drawing more than 5,000 people to a confined space. Based on this a bike race with a field of 180 riders could go ahead if it were a national event @jeremycwhittle @stephenfarrand

https://twitter.com/lequipe/status/1233777664483373057

fenix

blazing_saddles said:

ocdupalais said:

I thought that large scale sporting events with an appeal to a mass audience evolved as a means to divert attention away from tedious, arduous and pox-ridden short lives...

Yeah, I wonder why when the mass gathering of 25,000 children and young folk in Bristol today is reported as being praiseworthy, rather than irresponsible.

Why irresponsible ?
How many footy matches get well over that number ?

I don't suppose kids will be doing that much travel to China either.

pblakeney

fenix said:

blazing_saddles said:

ocdupalais said:

I thought that large scale sporting events with an appeal to a mass audience evolved as a means to divert attention away from tedious, arduous and pox-ridden short lives...

Yeah, I wonder why when the mass gathering of 25,000 children and young folk in Bristol today is reported as being praiseworthy, rather than irresponsible.

Why irresponsible ?
How many footy matches get well over that number ?

I don't suppose kids will be doing that much travel to China either.

You think that you have to go to China to catch the virus? 🤔

fenix

I'd say hanging out with schoolkids would be a lot less risk than a gathering of international travellers.

My company's only traveling internationally for business critical reasons at the moment. UK travel is fine but you'd probably not go to any expos with international participants for a while.

blazing_saddles

fenix said:

I'd say hanging out with schoolkids would be a lot less risk than a gathering of international travellers.

My company's only traveling internationally for business critical reasons at the moment. UK travel is fine but you'd probably not go to any expos with international participants for a while.

Those children had come from far and wide to this gathering. They then go back to their schools all over the country.........

In terms of the potential to spread infection, a lot worse than sporting gatherings imo.

pblakeney

blazing_saddles said:

fenix said:

I'd say hanging out with schoolkids would be a lot less risk than a gathering of international travellers.

My company's only traveling internationally for business critical reasons at the moment. UK travel is fine but you'd probably not go to any expos with international participants for a while.

Those children had come from far and wide to this gathering. They then go back to their schools all over the country.........

In terms of the potential to spread infection, a lot worse than sporting gatherings imo.

Especially if some of those kids (or their friends/family) have been skiing in Italy...

RichN95.

I'm unconvinced that bike races, most of which don't get large concentrated crowds are more of a threat than shopping centres for example. Air travel will always provide the biggest risk and no-one's seriously talking about stopping that. By all means keep out of hot spots, but I think Scott Sunderland speaks a lot of sense.

blazing_saddles

A handy link to keep abreast of all the numbers.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

gweeds

Of all the sporting events to cancel, a bike race where most people are just roaming around on streets and the like would seem less likely to be a problem than stadia and the like.

Having said that, reports from UAE are now saying that three teams are being prevented from leaving and will be put into lockdown again.

It’s a confused picture, at best.

RichN95.

gweeds said:

Having said that, reports from UAE are now saying that three teams are being prevented from leaving and will be put into lockdown again.

Groupama, Cofidis and Gazprom. They were staying on the same floor. Although now being reported that others have been stopped. Still no sign of the virus. My cynicism would suggest this is a government putting on a show of toughness.