As previously reported by cyclingnews.commasks, hand disinfectant gels and PCR tests: if we thought they were now a thing of the past in cycling, let’s forget it. Visma-Lease a Bike has reintroduced a partial COVID-19 protocol at the 2024 Tour de France, Wielerflits reported Thursday morning, after new cases of coronavirus emerged, one of which involved their team.
The entire team, both staff and riders, wore masks on the plane to Florence for the Grand Départ, the Dutch website reported, and rapid COVID-19 tests will be carried out on the entire team every day. A special PCR testing machine will be used in case of further checks. Masks are again recommended in places where large numbers of people gather, although it is unclear whether the team will wear them tonight at the press conference, where a number of their top riders are expected, before the team presentation. Anyone with cold- or flu-like symptoms will be placed in isolation.
“It won’t be easy to convince everyone of the need for this protocol,” Visma-Lease a Bike sources told WielerFlits. “But considering how much we invest in the Tour de France, it only makes sense that we try to prevent COVID-19 from entering the team.”
The absence of Sepp Kuss, an important mountain support rider for Jonas Vingegaard, was announced this week due to his failure to recover from a recent case of COVID-19. Kuss received negative test results multiple times before testing positive, and his full recovery is taking longer than expected.
In other teams, David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) recently contracted COVID-19, but returned to racing at the Tour after missing the French National Championships to ensure a full recovery, while Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) had to withdraw from the Tour due to a fractured rib following a fall and a COVID infection.
Introduced in 2020 as the pandemic spread around the world, most COVID-19 protocols in cycling were finally removed or no longer made mandatory by the UCI at the start of this season, much later than in many other sports.
This was followed by a relaxation of the most stringent measures in early 2023, such as mandatory negative COVID-19 testing for all participants and members of the cycling community before attending events. But significant parts of the protocol remained in place.
During the 2023 season, for example, runners were technically still required to wear a mask until minutes before the start, and limited quarantine for infected runners was mandatory.
Even after those restrictions were lifted earlier this season, the UCI continued to recommend certain practices.
By the editorial staff of Inbici News24
Copyright © Reproduction Reserved Inbici Media Group
