It was a stroke of fate for Mathieu van der Poel and his Alpecin-Fenix team.
While the young Dutch prodigy won, on Sunday February 21, the first stage of the UAE Tour - the Tour of the United Arab Emirates -, the first date of the highest level of the cycling season, his team had to throw in the towel without even compete in the second stage.
In question: a positive test for Covid-19 of a member of the staff.
An illustration of the permanent uncertainty in which the cycling world is evolving to continue its journey despite the pandemic.
"The team was notified of a positive result in a member of the team after tests carried out on Sunday evening", explains the press release published by Alpecin-Fenix on social networks.
"In agreement with the organizers of the UAE Tour, we have therefore decided to withdraw our team to protect the health bubble and allow the race to continue."
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- Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team (@AlpecinFenix) February 22, 2021
"After receiving the results, the person immediately went into solitary confinement, as did those who came into contact with this person," the statement added.
A threat hanging over every race
On Sunday, the French team Saint-Michel Auber 93 did not start the third stage of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var after the diagnosis of a positive case.
The screening was "carried out in anticipation of the Drôme-Ardèche Loops" which should take place on February 27 and 28.
# Tour0683: Following the diagnosis of a positive case of Covid-19 within our team, during a screening carried out this Saturday morning in anticipation of the Drome Ardèche Loops, we decided to withdraw from the event.
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- St Michel - Auber93 🍩 (@ Auber93Cyclisme) February 21, 2021
As part of a special Covid-19 medical protocol from the International Cycling Union (UCI), teams must be tested before they can participate in races.
The specific testing schedule depends on a team's race schedule but typically includes a six day test and then three days before a race.
In the event of a positive test during a race, the team withdraws.
At the beginning of February, the Belgian formation Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise had to give up "as a precaution" to take the start of the 51st edition of the Étoile de Bessèges because of a case of Covid-19 in its management team.
Constant adaptation
In a sport like cycling where a runner's season is measured out and arranged from A to Z to optimize performance and peak form, the Covid-19 turns into a puzzle to organize the calendars of the athletes: "The masters words are agility, adaptation ", summarizes Jean-Baptiste Quiclet, performance director of AG2R-Citroën, interviewed by Le Monde on the way in which the teams are experiencing the pandemic.
"It is at the end of spring that we will see if the runners have been unsettled by the fear of being late in their preparation," he predicts.
This is the bad adventure suffered by the Slovak superstar, Peter Sagan.
Tested positive for Covid-19 on January 29 during a training camp in Spain with his brother Juraj and his teammate Erik Baska, the Slovak was placed in solitary confinement for ten days, which delayed his preparation.
While he was hoping to make his comeback in Belgium on the Het Nieuwsblad (February 27) and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (February 28) Circuit, he had to give up, not feeling "yet" ready.
The fear of cancellations
In addition to the positive test, riders and teams also fear the cancellation of events.
Since the beginning of January, the calendar has already been turned upside down: the Australian races which traditionally mark the resumption of the World Tour have been canceled.
Other organizers of smaller events are also throwing in the towel.
One-day (Denain GP) or stage races (Circuit de la Sarthe, Tour de Normandie) had to be canceled at the start of 2021. Others will probably follow, of their own doing or lack of authorizations. necessary, since the last word rests with the prefectural authority.
The Prefecture of Morbihan has issued an unfavorable opinion to the organization of the Breton Route scheduled for Sunday, February 28 due to the resurgence of cases of variant Covid-19 in Morbihan.
The organizers are looking for a postponement date.
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- Brittany Cycling Committee (@CyclismeBzh) February 18, 2021
The cycling Tour of Flanders, one of the five "monuments" of cycling scheduled for April 4, is in camera to limit the risks.
Like last year, the public will therefore be banned in the start and finish areas, the mountains and the cobbled areas which are the salt of this major date on the calendar.
All while praying that the health situation does not deteriorate by then.
Arnaud Démare, the best French sprinter in the peloton (Groupama-FDJ), is still the one who best summed up the situation by sharing his training program on his Instagram account: "Hoping that all of this can take place."
See this post on Instagram
A publication shared by Arnaud Démare (@ arnaud.demare)
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