The return of the Covid-19 epidemic has cast doubt on the good performance of the Tour de France, which begins this Friday in Copenhagen (Denmark). A first withdrawal due to Covid, that of the Belgian from the Quick Step team Tim Declercq, came to worry the peloton three days before the big start. After a Tour de Suisse upset in mid-June by around thirty positive cases and cascading team withdrawals, could we fear such a scenario on the Grande Boucle?
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has just published its new protocol concerning the management of the epidemic on the Tour. And, clearly, there will be a relaxation of the measures in the event of a positive case during the test. Already, “the rule which authorized the organizer to withdraw from its race any team whose two or more runners within seven days present positive Covid-19 PCR tests is abandoned”, specifies the UCI. Gone is the specter of having to withdraw from the biggest race in the world if two mechanics have caught the virus.
Above all, a runner who tests positive will not automatically be forced to leave the race. If a rider tests positive, “the decision on possible isolation will be taken collectively by the doctor of the team concerned, the Covid-19 doctor of the event and the Medical Director of the UCI, on the basis of the available clinical elements”, indicates the UCI. An asymptomatic runner should thus be authorized to remain in the race.
The use of barrier gestures is of course encouraged, and the tests will be reinforced. Mandatory, you must have presented a negative test two days before departure to participate in the Tour. And on rest days, the whole peloton and officials will be tested. Tests within teams, every two to three days, are “strongly recommended”, but not compulsory.
