The Tour de France hasn’t started yet or The large loop is already under the spell of the coronavirus. Tests are taken within all teams, which unfortunately turned out to be positive for a whole ride. Both team leaders and – not the least – riders are the losers.
First there was the positive test of Tim Declerq, who could not travel to Copenhagen because of this. Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl lost an important pawn and they had to call on their first reserve on the list: Florian Sénéchal. Covid-19 also struck within the UAE Team Emirates squad; Matteo Trentin got infected and was therefore unable to start. Tadej Pogacar saw one of his servants lose weight, although Marc Hirschi also added another strong man to the selection.
Unfortunately, it didn’t just stop with the positive tests of Declerq and Trentin, because Astana Qazaqstan Team announced on Wednesday on Twitter that Samuel Battistella (replacement: Aleksandr Riabushenko) is also infected. The positive tests come from an overall test round of the organization, two days before the start in Denmark. For that reason, all riders and staff members were given a stick in the nose. That was good news for many. Thibaut Pinot and Stefan Küng became infected with corona just after the Tour of Switzerland, but tested negative on Wednesday. So they can start.
Impey and Coquard also positive, Jungels is lucky
Israel-Premier Tech has also been affected by the virus: Omer Goldstein has been identified as a high-risk contact due to his flight to Copenhagen and is thus replaced by Guillaume Boivin. The same happened to Impey and was therefore not present at the team presentation. On Thursday it was announced that the South African is indeed positive, after which Guy Niv was called up as a replacement. The Israeli rider lets you know confident to go to Copenhagen. Sports director Rik Verbrugghe also tested positive and will therefore stay at home. The same happened to Jumbo-Visma team leader Merijn Zeeman on Wednesday.
Bob Jungels had to wait a little longer for his test results after he developed digestive problems last weekend. On Wednesday, the Luxembourger tested ‘slightly positive’ and skipped the team presentation, but on Thursday AG2R Citroën Team announced that the rider had submitted a negative test. Jungels can therefore just participate in The large loop.
Then we have Cofidis, which is also an important asset on Thursday saw positive test: Bryan Coquard. A hard blow for the French formation, which hoped to score high with these riders in the sprints. Pierre-Luc Périchon may take the vacant spot in the selection.
Undoubtedly to be continued…
