COVID-19 positives continue to wreak havoc on the Tour de Suisse
Three more teams and race leader Vlasov withdraw after positives
Photo by: SirottiFriday morning before the first of two high mountain summit finish stages at the Tour de Suisse was a difficult one for the teams and race organizers as COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the peloton. The day after Jumbo-Visma withdrew its squad following positive tests, new race leader Alexandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgroeh) abandoned because he had caught the virus leaving Jakob Fuglsang to take over the yellow jersey.
That was just the most shocking withdrawal.
After three riders tested positive, UAE-Emirates yanked the rest of the team from the 85th edition. Diego Ulissi was in fifth place on GC.
Bahrain-Victorious, who led the race for four days via Stephen Williams, went home after positives.
? Sadly, we withdraw from @tds following notification of several COVID-19 positive results among our team members, in agreement with the race organizers and with the health of our riders and staff as our priority.#Tourdesuisse2022
? https://t.co/qZqWYxXheI pic.twitter.com/eg9QnMcZud
— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) June 17, 2022
As did Alpecin-Fenix.
Alpecin-Fenix won’t take the start of the 6th stage of the Tour de Suisse. Unfortunately, despite all necessary precautions, two team members returned positive covid tests. 1/3
— Alpecin-Fenix Cycling Team (@AlpecinFenix) June 17, 2022
EF Education-Easypost had four riders depart after testing positive, carrying on with two.
This morning, four of our riders tested positive during a routine COVID-19 test. No staff tested positive. Stefan Bissegger, Rigoberto Urán, Hugh Carthy, and Alberto Bettiol will be sent home, in a safe way, today.
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) June 17, 2022
The race started with 152 riders on Sunday and there are now 92 riders left.
In a statement, Tour de Suisse organizers said, “The representatives of the UCI, the teams, the riders and the Tour management jointly assessed the health situation this morning and decided to continue the race.”