Lotte Kopecky explains in a message on her social media about the decision to come to the start of Gent-Wevelgem. On Wednesday, the Belgian champion was a guest in Extra Time Koers together with Jan Bakelants. After the latter tested positive for corona on Friday evening, he was quarantined and another guest, Tiesj Benoot, got a start ban from his team. But Kopecky will take part in Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday.
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Just as Lotto Soudal’s press officer Philippe Maertens emphasized earlier, Kopecky says she kept enough distance from Bakelants during the broadcast.
“I had no direct contact with Jan Bakelants and was at a sufficient distance during Extra Time Koers. I took a negative test after the delivery on Friday, even after we heard the news we ruled out risks and the team had an extra PCR test performed yesterday afternoon before I entered the team bubble ”, Kopecky writes on Sunday.
“And finally this too, Jan tested negative on Tuesday and rode a whole day in the peloton on Wednesday, together with 171 other riders. He was also on the team bus for the game, just hours before we saw each other. His teammates have also taken an extra test and will start today in Gent-Wevelgem or Paris-Tours as well as most of the 171 other riders. In consultation and with medical approval, we have therefore decided to start today in Gent-Wevelgem. ”
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