Before even thinking about the winner, the course of the race, the beautiful images on TV, the Tour de France, which starts this Saturday from Nice, has only one goal: to reach Paris at all costs. He knows his enemy: the Covid-19 which at any time can thwart the race, stop it, exclude runners and, worse, complete teams. Stopping the Tour would be a disaster, a bad sign on the progress of the epidemic, for everyone.
To avoid any risk, ASO (Amaury Sport Organization), the organizer of the biggest cycling race in the world, takes all possible measures.
The Belgians in Lotto escaped it narrowly
The most severe concerns the health control of the teams. Last week, ASO had decided to exclude any team whose group enlarged to thirty people (the eight riders plus the staff including technical support, mechanics, doctors, masseurs, cooks, driver, communication manager) would present two cases of Covid contamination within seven days. This drastic measure made cringe among sports directors who feared a massacre.
As of Thursday, at the time of the official presentation of the teams, the Belgian formation Lotto-Soudal learned that two members of its management had recorded positive tests. They were sent home along with their roommates. The team is not under threat of exclusion but has not gone far.
Faced with this very strict initial measure concerning Covid tests, the AIGCP (International Association of Professional Cycling Groups) asked ASO to relax the device a little. As we suggested on Tuesday, the participants of the Tour signed a new charter which indicates that only positive cases concerning the riders can lead to exclusion. Staff members further away from the peloton are therefore not concerned. Each positive test must be confirmed by a second, and if the latter confirms, the team will take the gate, regardless of the status of its riders.
