It was via a laconic press release that the Groupama-FDJ team issued two pieces of information this Wednesday at midday.

First of all, Thibaut Pinot tested positive for Covid-19 "just after the Tour de Suisse", which ended on June 21.

But the 32-year-old Frenchman, who won the seventh and penultimate stage of this race, is "now fit to start the Tour de France" on Friday in Copenhagen.

His teammate, the Swiss Stefan Küng, is in exactly the same situation as the Franc-Comtois, and will therefore also be able to present himself for the first stage in Denmark.

A relaxed regulation for the Tour

Covid has returned to the top of the top concerns of sporting event organizers in recent weeks as the new wave increases.

For the Tour de France, the International Cycling Federation (UCI) indicates that in the event of a positive case for a rider, “the decision on possible isolation will be taken collectively by the doctor of the team concerned, the doctor Covid-19 of the event and the medical director of the UCI”.

The rule of automatic exclusion from the race for a team with two Covid-positive runners within seven days has meanwhile been abandoned.

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  • Cycling

  • Tour de France 2022

  • Thibaut Pinot

  • Fdj

  • Covid-19

  • Coronavirus