(Carcassonne) Three riders, the French Mikaël Chérel and Aurélien Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroën) and the German Max Walscheid (Cofidis), tested positive for coronavirus and abandoned the Tour de France on Tuesday, before the start of the 16e stopover in Carcassonne.
Posted at 7:15 a.m.
The German Lennard Kämna, ill (cold), also gave up continuing the race, announced his Bora team, specifying that the COVID-19 tests carried out daily gave a negative result for the winner of the Etna stage. during the last Giro.
Eleven competitors in total have had to leave the race due to the coronavirus since the start from Copenhagen which had brought together 176 runners.
Chérel and Paret-Peintre are the two asymptomatic cases cited by the International Cycling Union (UCI) which carried out a general detection for the whole peloton on Sunday before the last day of rest.
“The results of two of our riders show a viral load that does not allow (them) to continue the Tour de France”, specified their team after a last test carried out on Tuesday morning.
Their withdrawal leaves Vincent Lavenu’s group reduced to three riders, the Luxembourger Bob Jungels, winner of the Chatel stage, the Frenchman Benoît Cosnefroy and the Belgian Stan Dewulf.
The French formation was deprived of its leader, the Australian Ben O’Connor, not starting in the 10e stage. She also lost along the way the Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard, positive for COVID-19, and the Belgian Oliver Naesen, sick.
Aurélien Paret-Peintre had finished the Tour last year at the 15e place, for his first participation. He occupied the 24e place before the start of this 16e stage.
Walscheid, for its part, is the second case to occur in the Cofidis team, after Guillaume Martin.