2023-05-15 12:40:00
Due to a positive Covid test, the Belgian leader and double stage winner Remco Evenepoel had to throw in the towel in this Giro and finally give up with the status of big favorite for the final victory.
But was he obliged to leave Italy? Couldn’t he have tried to bite into his chewing and take advantage of the rest day then the “easier” stages at the start of the week to try to heal without wasting time in the general classification? The UCI regulations have indeed been lightened since June 2022, and no longer oblige runners to give up as soon as a test proves positive. As this UCI document of January 13, 2023 relating to cases of Covid-19 on the Grand Tours shows, “in the case of a positive test for Covid-19 in a team (riders or members), the decision to isolate and withdraw the subject from the race will be taken collectively by the doctor of the team concerned, the doctor of the event and the medical director of the UCI”.
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We had to protect Remco… and the others
So, was the announcement of Remco Evenepoel’s withdrawal automated from the moment the test result turned out to be official? According to the world champion’s dad, Patrick Evenepoel, the team’s thinking on the subject only depended on one man: “When the team doctor (Toon Cruyt) says stop, we just stop…”
Moreover, Patrick Lefevere, the boss of the team, supported the direction of his doctor on Twitter: “You never know what is going on in your body. No risk”.
It would probably have been frowned upon by other riders in the peloton to have to ride alongside a contaminated Remco…
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