Frenchman Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), one of the candidates for the ‘top 10’ of the Tour de France, tested positive for covid-19 and left the French race before the start of the ninth stage of the 109th edition, confirmed the International Cycling Union .
“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that Guillaume Martin, of the Cofidis team, will not participate in the ninth stage of the Tour de France, due to the application of the Covid-19 health protocol. The decision was made collegially by the team doctor, the covid-19 race doctor and the UCI medical director, based on the available clinical elements.
Eighth in the 2021 Tour, the 29-year-old French climber is currently in 14th position in the general classification, 03.02 minutes behind the yellow jersey, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (United Arab Emirates).
“After two positive tests on Saturday, carried out internally by the team doctor Guillaume Martin, the Cofidis staff contacted the UCI and the ASO [organizadora do Tour]. An emergency PCR test carried out this morning by the ASO mobile unit confirmed the positive”, the French team later detailed, indicating that the rest of the runners and staff members were tested and tested negative.
Martín has a record of consistent results in Grand Tours: he was ninth in the 2021 Tour, in which he was ‘king of the mountain’ in the previous edition, he was at the bottom of the ‘top 10’ of the 2019 Tour (12th) and 2020 (11th) and, already this year, the Giro finished in 14th place.
The Covid-19 thus put an end to the impressive streak of 362 days of competition without leaving the Cofidis cyclist, who is the last ‘victim’ of the new wave of the virus in the peloton.
On Saturday, France’s Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) and his Norwegian teammate Vegard Stake Laengen, Pogacar, became the first riders to leave the ‘Grande Boucle’ due to coronavirus.
The ninth stage of the Tour de France today joins Aigle, the Swiss city where the UCI is based, with Châtel, covering a total of 192.9 kilometres.
AMG // AMG
Portugal/End
Source: Observadora
