Two new riders in the Tour de France peloton have tested positive for Covid-19, the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on Monday during the rest day in Carcassonne in Aude. As at every break now, all the runners had been tracked down by an antigen test Sunday evening after the 15th stage.
“The two riders concerned are not in the top 20 of the general classification of the event”, specifies the UCI. But because these runners are totally asymptomaticthey were placed in solitary confinement to protect the other participants and “a final decision on their participation following the event will be taken collectively by the parties concerned (doctors of the event and the Covid-19 teams, and the medical director of the UCI)”added the international federation.
Since the start of the race, eight riders had to leave the Tour due to the coronavirus. Dane Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education) and Australian Simon Clarke (Israel PT) returned home on Sunday, after New Zealander George Bennett and Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE), Australian Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange) and the French Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Warren Barguil (Arkea-Samsic).
During the first day of rest before the Alps, all the tests had given a negative result.