One less source of anxiety for runners.

While all the participants in the Tour de France 2022 took a Covid-19 detection test on Sunday July 10 at the end of the 9th stage, they all came back negative.

"All the riders participating in the Tour de France were tested on the evening of July 10. All the tests were negative", formalized Monday morning, the UCI while the riders observe a rest day in Haute-Savoie.

But, insisted the international federation, "the rules put in place for two years in the interest of everyone's health and safety continue to apply. These include the obligation to wear a mask, to maintain sufficient physical distance and to disinfect your hands frequently".

In addition to the riders, the members of the management of the 22 teams must undergo a test on the occasion of this day of rest.

A lighter protocol specifically for the Tour

The new wave of Covid, which particularly affects France, has already caused departures in the management of several teams, both in staff and in group management.

The Quick-Step team alone has had to call on three new sports directors since the start of the Tour.

Before the start in Copenhagen, half a dozen riders were replaced within their respective formations.

Following the cascade of retirements recorded at the Tour de Suisse in mid-June, the anti-Covid protocol was updated before the start of the Tour by the International Cycling Union.

The tests are compulsory before the start and during the two rest days of the event in Morzine and Carcassonne, riders and team personnel included.

In the event of a positive result, the protocol provides that "the decision on possible isolation will be taken collectively by the doctor of the team concerned, the Covid-19 doctor for the event and the medical director of the UCI".

Guillaume Martin denounces an "artistic blur"

However, three riders have had to leave the race since the start in Denmark, after having tested positive for Covid.

The French Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) and the Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE), a teammate of the Slovenian yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar, left Saturday morning before the start of the 8th stage.

The Frenchman Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) imitated them the next morning.

In an interview with the newspaper L'Équipe, Guillaume Martin, who felt in good shape, criticized this point of the UCI protocol and wondered about the definition of the criteria used to reach a decision: "It's a big soft focus and that's where I got it wrong. I had stuck with the idea that the protocol had been laid out so that a positive but asymptomatic runner could continue. I thought I would fit into this box ."

But, acknowledged the Norman runner, his last PCR test "revealed a fairly low 'R rate', so my contagiousness was quite high". 

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