Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley was scheduled to compete in the elite men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships on Sunday, September 25, but after testing positive for COVID-19 on September 12, the Australian rider will remain in Europe.

The Australian team is expected to move around Michael Matthews, but Hindley, who tested positive after the Vuelta a España, was seen as a handy option on the climbs.

"We are in regular contact with Jai and his support team in Europe. Jai's health is monitored daily along with his and his professional team."

The 26-year-old rider from Western Australia, who finished 10th overall in the Vuelta, was "mostly asymptomatic," the statement said.

"Jai tested positive more than a week before the event, but we will make a final decision on his participation closer to the event. As with all events, we have a Plan B and a Plan C.

"At this stage we are hopeful that Jai will be able to leave Europe on Monday and join the rest of the team in Wollongong midweek.

The elite men's road race course for the World Championships in Wollongong will take the riders from the settlement of Helensburgh, near Sydney, down the coast to Wollongong, one lap of the Mount Keira circuit and 12 laps of the city circuit, including the climb up Mount Pleasant.

The 266.9 km event includes nearly 4,000 m of climbing, but the long climb of Mount Keira is early in the race, and the repetitive climb of Mount Pleasant is too short for uphill specialists such as Hindley, Australian Matthews, Wout Van Aert (Belgium), Mathieu Van Der Pol (Netherlands), and two-time title winner Julien Alaphilippe (France) were among the favorites to win.

In addition to Matthews and Hindley, the Australian team will consist of Simon Clark, Luke Durbridge, Heinrich Haussler, Ben O'Connor, Luke Plapp, and Nick Schultz.