The Italian men's track team has delayed its departure for the European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, this week.

Time trial world champion Filippo Ganna tested positive on Thursday, while fellow men's team pursuit athletes Liam Bertazzo and Michele Scartezzini tested positive on Saturday.

Like Ganna, they returned home with mild symptoms and were quarantined. The rest of the team delayed their departure until Tuesday in order to undergo PCR testing in Italy on Monday.

So far, the team has been tested four times in just eight days, with all others testing negative, but they face confusion in their preparations for the European Track Championships. Racing will begin on Wednesday with the Team Pursuit qualifier.

The Italian women's team will also be in Bulgaria, but has had limited contact with the men's team during final track training as many of their athletes competed in the Madrid Challenge Road Race in Spain and have not been affected by COVID-19.

France has already withdrawn from the European Championships due to concerns over COVID-19. Bulgaria has about the same number of COVID-19 cases as the United Kingdom, but less than Italy and France.

"The virus is invisible and it is not easy to understand how it spreads," Italian national coach Marco Villa told the Italian website Bici.pro (opens in new tab).

Italy is eager to race to maintain its Team Pursuit ranking ahead of the 2021 season and the postponed Tokyo Olympics. Villa has called up Under-23 riders Gidas Umbri and Matteo Donega to replace Bertazzo and Michele Scartezzini.

"It's the European Championships, so it's only natural to respect the hard work that Enrico della Casa [UEC Secretary General] has done to organize this event... It's really important considering the Olympics since we haven't competed in a team pursuit event since March. It's really important for the Olympics," Villa said.

"The staff and equipment are already in Bulgaria. Zidas Umbri will be the fourth athlete to compete in Team Pursuit, and Donega will be the fifth athlete to compete in the other events. Umbri was recently second in the team time trial championships and was part of the team that finished second in the under-23 team pursuit.

"This is my plan B. If someone misses out, Plan C would be to run the individual Pursuit in Milan. That way we will have a less stressful 2021."