Bad news for the yellow jersey of the Tour! The Covid affects his team since Vegard Stake Laengen is forced to retire this Saturday morning.
“Vegard tested negative yesterday morning in a routine in-house test, but had a sore throat last night. The antigen test was positive, and the diagnosis was confirmed by a PCR test performed this morning,” UAE Team Emirates doctor Adriano Rotunno said on Saturday. “In accordance with protocol, for his safety, that of the team and the peloton, he was removed from the race”.
Geoffrey Bouchard also positive
Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R-Citroën), suffering during the 7th stage, underwent an antigen test on his return to the hotel which turned out to be positive. He was immediately isolated from the rest of the group, said Vincent Lavenu’s team. The rest of the team, riders and staff, underwent an antigenic test, which turned out to be negative, said the French formation.
“During the stage, I didn’t feel well. It’s a big disappointment because I was entering my favorite terrain, the mountains,” said Geoffrey Bouchard in a press release from AG2R Citroën. “It was my first Tour de France and it’s sad to end it like this,” added the 30-year-old rider, who has won the mountain classification of the Giro and the Vuelta in the past.
Unlike last year, the French team has had little success so far in the 2022 Tour. Its leader, the Australian Ben O’Connor (4th in 2021), lost time on the last three stages to find themselves in 46th place in the standings, almost a quarter of an hour behind the yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar.