➡️ Aumenta el blindaje de los equipos en el Tour de Francia y también se ven numerosas mascarillas #TdF2024 🚲 Según pudo saber @diarioas, Adam Yates y Tim Wellens llegaron por separado y no en el autobús a la salida 📹 @danimiranda9 (Gruissan)
Covid-19 in UAE Team Emirates? Two of Tadej Pogacar's teammates separated from race leader into key stages
CyclingTuesday, 16 July 2024 at 13:05
A sight that has been seen on a few occasions this week. About a week ago Tom Pidcock and Geraint Thomas were seen being transported to the start of Tour de France stages in team cars and not on the bus, and later showed symptoms and tested positive for Covid-19 respectively. Two of Tadej Pogacar's teammates travelled to today's stage start outside of the team bus sparking big questions.
This morning Team Jayco AlUla's Chris Harper tested positive and withdrew from the race, whilst the same has happened yesterday with Lotto Dstny's Maxim van Gils. It isn't just a rumour that there is Covid in the peloton, Geraint Thomas of INEOS Grenadiers is literally in the race after having tested positive, and UAE itself has had Juan Ayuso pull out because of the illness that continues to be well present in pro cycling still in 2024.
A sport where respiratory function is absolutely vital, having a Covid infection can prove absolutely deadly for the chances of any rider, even if currently riders are not forced to abandon the race because of it. Ordinarily, that still happens, so as to protect teammates, staff and fans who may not be so lucky with symptoms. This morning, as reported by AS, both Adam Yates and Tim Wellens travelled to the start of stage 16 in team cars, separated from the rest of their teammates on the team bus.
This is bad news for the race leader who has seemingly cemented his Tour victory this weekend in the Pyrenees, if he manages to avoid a bad day as in the previous two Tours. The team was said to have significantly increased the amount of masks and protection as well in comparison to previous days, most likely confirming fear of Covid within it's bubble - and possible infections within staff.
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