Tour de France 2022: Another teammate of reigning champion Tadej Pogacar abandons race
New Zealand’s George Bennett became the second team mate of defending champion Tadej Pogacar to leave the race after a positive Covid-19 test, his UAE Emirates team said on Tuesday.
“On Monday he was tested as per internal protocols of the team and returned a positive result. This was confirmed with a PCR test,” UAE said in a statement.
“Therefore he will not start today,” team doctor Adrian Rotunno said.
Last Saturday, Vegard Stake Laengen also pulled out with Covid-19, which means that Pogacar’s team are now down to six riders going into a gruelling week in the Alps.
Pogacar leads the overall standings, 39 seconds ahead of Dane Jonas Vingegaard.
Tuesday’s 10th stage is a 148-km mountain trek to Megeve.
Earlier on Tuesday, Australian Luke Durbridge was also pulled out after testing positive for Covid-19, his Bike Exchange-Jayco team said.
“Unfortunately Luke Durbridge has tested positive for Covid-19 this morning. Durbridge has very mild symptoms & will not start today’s stage 10,” the Australian outfit said in a statement.
Bennett is the fifth rider to leave the race with a positive Covid-19 test since the start on 1 July.
All riders had been tested on Sunday night and all tests had returned negative.
Last year, if two members of a team tested positive for Covid the whole outfit would be sent packing, which is not the case in this edition.
Whether a rider who tests positive can stay in the race is decided following a meeting between race, International Cycling Union (UCI) and team doctors, depending on the rider’s viral load.
Reuters
