Vuelta director Javier Guillén unsatisfied with current Covid outbreak: "I don’t know what’s going to happen"
Cycling
At the start of stage 12 a total of 23 riders abandoned due to Covid-19 confirmed, about 8% of all riders who began the Vuelta a Espana. Inbetween those are Sam Bennett, Simon Yates and Ethan Hayter who were some of the headliners for the event. Race director Javier Guillén has talked about it's evolution.
In an interview after yesterday's stage with TVE, Guillén has said that “there isn’t any kind of medical situation going on. I’m no doctor, no matter what I think, I’m the director of the Vuelta a España and the COVID cases are occurring. I stick to medical criteria, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but what I do know or understand is that there is no general state of concern. There is no requirement for the teams to do more, but they do it," he said about the teams carrying out their own interal testing throughout the race.
Although at the start it were few cases, over the last few days several riders have abandoned the race daily in a rate that seems to be growing. There is an ongoing debate on who should abandon the race or not, but unlike the Tour de France, there is no known case of an infected rider staying in the race thus far.
“We knew there would be COVID cases, because we’ve had COVID in all the races, but perhaps there is a bigger drip of cases going on,” Guillén continued. “There are lots of asymptomatic cases and very light ones. We know the teams are testing a lot and that’s what producing the positives. We hope that the situation will get better.”
He's shown lack of satisfaction regarding the situation, and argues the teams' testing is playing a role in the amount of abandons. “When you test positive with an antigen, the right thing is to do a PCR. And if the viral load [from a PCR] turns out to be low, they can race,” he said.
“The problem is that when they test positive in the morning, they don’t have time to do the PCR before going to the start. They would have to be allowed to start without knowing what the viral load is, and I suppose they [the UCI] still aren’t ready to allow that," Guillén concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
- If you go watch some races from last season other riders that have never caught Jonas...are now catching him. Some are just riding away from him and he can't hold the wheelmd197514-11-2026
- He just doesn't have the desire anymore. I read an article earlier today that said he almost retired last year. His reasoning was he is away from home to much. Visma was able to keep him riding by allowing him to skip certain camps. So, while currently Visma is doing altitude work...Jonas is at home. Which means 2 things. 1- He maybe fresher than other riders. But, not the condition. 2-Is a somewhat slap in the face to others on the team that are supposed to help him win. Yet feel like he hasn't done what they have so perhaps they don't provide as good of protection or they ride more for theme (which the team may not notice).md197514-11-2026
- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
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🔥Etapa 1⃣2⃣ | Stage 1⃣2⃣🔥 🚩 Salobreña 🏁 Peñas Blancas. Estepona ⏰ 12:15 CET > 17:16 CET 📏 192,7 km 💚 Marbella 𝐁⏱️ ⛰️1⃣ Peñas Blancas + info ➡️ lavuelta.es/es/etapa-12 #LaVuelta22
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