The Covid-19 caused the forced departure from the Tour de France on Sunday of a third rider in two days, Guillaume Martin, who had finished the race last year in the position of first Frenchman (8th). The Norman from Cofidis training is the first team leader to have to leave the race, the day after the retirement of the Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen (UAE), teammate of the yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar, and the Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën). Paradoxically, Guillaume Martin, 14th in the standings on Saturday evening, felt “rising under pressure” in the Tour. As proof, his rank at the arrival of the 8th stage in Lausanne (13th), at the same time as the winner Wout van Aert.
“I had a very slight sore throat, like it can happen to me 25 times a year,” he told France Télévisions. “Dutifully, I asked the doctor to take an antigen test which came back positive.” After this double positive test, the runner was placed in solitary confinement. He passed a PCR test on Sunday morning carried out “in an emergency by the mobile unit of ASO” (Tour organizer), according to the details of his team.
“The other runners also tested”
“In accordance with the regulations and in agreement with the doctors of the UCI (International Cycling Union) and ASO, he will not take the start of the 9th stage”, added Cofidis. “The other riders and the entire staff were also tested and their results were all negative”.
A new compulsory test will be carried out on Sunday evening, before the rest day scheduled for Monday, as for all the teams. “It’s frustrating insofar as I have no symptoms, I feel good, proof of this is with my performances during the last two stages”, reacted Guillaume Martin. He had chained a series-record of 362 days of racing without abandonment until his departure from the Tour 2022.
“There were great things to do”
“There were great things to do on the rest of this Tour, on stages that suited me better. Everything was going well until then, I had avoided crashes during this first week of the Tour. ground where I knew I was going to have fun. The current situation has decided otherwise”, regretted the Frenchman. “This decision was taken collectively by the doctor of the team concerned, the Covid-19 doctor for the event and the medical director of the UCI, on the basis of the clinical elements available”, informed the federation. international.
The other two riders to retire on the eve of the rest day in Morzine left the race for other reasons. Portuguese Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education), who feels physically ill, has passed a negative covid test, his team said. As for the Dane Kasper Asgreen (Quick-Step), he is still suffering from a knee injured during the Tour de Suisse.