David Lappartient (president of the UCI) was present at the Tour de France's ninth stage in Aigle (Switzerland), just a few meters from the headquarters. After learning that Guillaume Martin had withdrawn due to Covid, Lappartient quickly spoke with Christian Prudhomme (the boss of the Tour de France), before raising the topic.
What are your thoughts on the three Covid cases that were detected in the peloton in the past two days?
I am not at all concerned. It is very contagious and is currently circulating. The teams do test each other daily. Therefore, I doubt that we will find a lot of positive cases tomorrow that have not been found by the teams. They know it is not compatible with high-level sports and it could spread to other runners so they generally take the runner out. You need to be serious in all that you do. It is essential to be vigilant to the very end.
Are there any changes that will be necessary to ensure riders are more secure?
We will not change the rules. The UCI, ASO (the organizer) and the teams discussed the matter. His app works. The Tour de France has 3500 km of roads, so you can't wear the mask everywhere. There is no risk for contagiousness. It is important to set the starting areas as tight as possible. Christian Prudhomme, general manager of ASO, discussed it. He suggested that we do the maximum to ensure that people with no work are not harmed. This will allow me to turn the screw an additional time. There is no risk in any of these cases.
What does "screw turn" mean?
It is just to limit the number of people who visit the area in question. It's not just to control who goes to these areas, organizers have to be asked the question. (ASO didn't give any additional elements, editor's notice). You should also remember that there weren't 30 to 40 cases at the Tour de Suisse. Because there were only one or two cases per team, they took precaution and sent the teams out.
Don't be alarmed if Tadej Pogacar tests positive.
There is always risk, but he won't be competitive if he had the Covid. He should not have it. Today, however, you can see that we have very few positive cases. This was evident in the Tour de France 2020. Our rate of positive cases is very low. This means that both riders and teams respect each other.
