Corona wave – will the tour become a lottery?

Rising infection numbers in Europe, the Tour de Suisse as a Corona farce and a Tour champion Tadej Pogacar who is wearing a mask again: Less than two weeks before the start of the Tour de France, there is a high level of alarm in cycling. The Corona summer wave is causing the industry to tremble. “For the sake of our sport, I don’t hope that it will just be a lottery,” said team boss Ralph Denk from the Bora-hansgrohe racing team to the German Press Agency with a view to the start of the tour on July 1st in Copenhagen: “The concern is there . It can already hit.”

After numerous Corona cases, more than 40 professional cyclists had to end the Tour de Suisse prematurely in the last few days. There were also three cases in the Bora team, including that of Russian Alexander Vlasov, who had to pull out a day after winning the stage and winning the yellow jersey on Friday. Pogacar's immediate environment, who was completing his tour dress rehearsal at home on the Tour of Slovenia, was also affected. One teammate tested positive and another was taken out of the race to be on the safe side.

Like Mark Cavendish, we will have to celebrate with a mask again this year. © APA/afp / THOMAS SAMSON

“We are isolating ourselves as best we can,” said Pogacar, noting: “On the first two days we signed autographs and took photos with people. Now we're staying at a distance because we want to be at the start of the Tour.” The teams are shocked, especially in Switzerland, a number of riders had tested positive. “We actually thought we had put all that behind us,” said Geraint Thomas, the winner of the 2018 Tour of France.

Four teams left the race entirely because of the falls, others ended up with only a skeleton crew, like Bora-Hansgrohe. “I'm crossing my fingers that I don't get Corona,” said German champion Maximilian Schachmann, who had already been set back at the beginning of the year after contracting Corona and a serious infection. According to Denk, his three colleagues who tested positive only have mild symptoms, “which makes us positive about the Tour de France.”

Primoz Roglic may have to do without some teammates. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

Vlasov was designated as the man for the overall classification in the Tour of France. “We haven’t given up. There is still a chance. You have to wait a week now. If it is negative, he can get back on the bike. He’s not training at the moment,” explained Denk. The tour starts on July 1st in Copenhagen.

The team of Pogacar's rival Primoz Roglic was also affected. Jumbo-Visma was the first to leave the race after Corona cases in the team, which is why no driver from the Swiss squad will travel to Roglic's training camp in Tignes. PCR testing and isolation According to Denk, all drivers must submit a mandatory PCR test before the start of the tour, after which they should be tested on rest days, as in the last two years. There were no positive cases in the 2020 and 2021 editions, although the tour entourage was strictly isolated at the time and moved in their own bubble. Since this season, the world association UCI has relaxed the rules again.

At Bora they try to use “common sense”. “If we isolate ourselves again from the fans and from the journalists, then at some point the flair of the sport will be lost. “I have a stomach ache,” said Denk. You have to come to terms with the virus.

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Corona wave – will the tour become a lottery?

The Tour de France begins in Copenhagen on July 1st. After two years under Corona conditions, a race like before the pandemic seemed possible. But after numerous corona cases, fear is spreading among drivers. One positive test – and it’s all over.

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