Tim Declercq out of TdF due to COVID-19

It seems like COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc on the cycling world: on Tuesday, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl announced that Tim Declercq has to withdraw as he has tested positive. Declercq is known as “El tractor” as he is always at the front, doing his domestique duties, pulling the pack along for what seems like an eternity.

On Monday, cycling fans were shocked when the team announced its squad and noticeably absent was newly-crowned British national champion Mark Cavendish. The team posted that Fabio Jakobsen is slated to make his first appearance at the Tour de France.

Embarquer dans un avion bondé pour le Grand Départ quand 90% des passagers ne portent pas le masque. Premier stress test. @LeTour is on. ?

— Romain Bardet (@romainbardet) June 28, 2022

The Manx Missile was named as one of two reserve riders along with Florian Sénéchal. However, it looks like the team is going with the French rider over the former world champion.

Mark Cavendish put out incredible numbers in his perfect sprint at Milano-Torino

Fans of the British rider were eager to see if he could break the all-time record for stage victories at the Tour. Currently, he is tied with the great Eddy Merckx, with 34 wins apiece. At the 2021 edition, the Cav took an impressive four stage victories. The off season for Cavendish has hardly been a relaxing one, having been attacked and robbed at his home in November. He and his wife Peta and children were threatened at knife point during the robbery. That was following a horrific crash during one of the events at the Ghent Six Day, where he suffered two broken ribs and a collapsed lung.