Cycling did not wait for the Covid-19 epidemic to protect itself from the risk of contamination of all kinds. The health crisis which caused the postponement, to August 29, of the biggest race in the world, usually organized in July, only reinforced the obvious. Like what is happening now for football teams or NBA American basketball, runners were already living in a health bubble. Groupama-FDJ, the formation of Thibaut Pinot has been using a hygienist for a year who combs hotel rooms and other buses. Other teams like Ineos or Bora have their own dining room installed in a truck.
The new coronavirus has therefore not changed anything. He simply forced all the teams to strengthen their vigilance even more. Only masks and physical distances made their appearance in the paddocks before and after the races. For the Tour de France, the regulations put in place stipulate that a team is excluded from the competition if two positive cases in seven days are detected among the accredited staff: runners, management, mechanics, drivers, cooks.
“We should practice daily tests”
With the peloton, however, the virus has something to celebrate. A study conducted by teams from the University of Eindhoven led by researcher Bert Blocken shows that a runner infected with Covid-19 can potentially infect many others.
“You have the very small droplets of sweat (Editor’s note: in green on the infographic below) which we do not yet know if they carry viral loads, analyzes the specialist in aerodynamics. But you also have the big sweat droplets which fall to the ground faster but which can contain the virus (Red color). If you find yourself in the wheel of a sick runner who is coughing or sneezing, you can be infected up to a distance of 20 meters ”.
It is for all these reasons that it was also inadvisable to play sports in a group without respecting substantial distances. “But all of that is impossible for a peloton of professional racers,” admits Blocken.
For the moment, nothing indicates that the cases of Covid-19 recently detected in cycling have been declared following contamination within the peloton after the official resumption of races. “But to avoid them during the Tour de France and to ensure that no rider is carrying, it would be necessary to practice daily tests before the start of each stage, indicates the Dutch researcher. However, this will not be the case, ”worries Blocken.
The scientist’s work also enabled the Jumbo-Visma team, which includes one of the favorites of the event, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, to set up an air purification device in his bus. “In June, we carried out a study at the university to analyze the behavior of aerosols in a confined environment which is similar to a gym”, details Bert Blocken. About forty previously tested guinea pigs sweated next to each other on weight machines or bikes surrounded by sensors. The measurements showed that the ventilation system alone was not sufficient to renew the air and expel aerosol particles.
“By adding mobile scrubbers with plasma filters, the situation has improved,” says the scientist. The work caught the attention of Jumbo-Visma, which immediately fitted it to its bus and the rooms of its runners in hotels. The boss of the Dutch training, Richard Plugge is full of praise for this device to the point of advertising it on Twitter. “Clean air for our athletes,” says Plugge.
