Tadej Pogacar presented himself mercilessly in the first week of the Tour de France: Last year's winner countered every cautious attack mercilessly, the Slovenian is again in the yellow jersey with two stage wins behind him. The fans give him more headaches than his opponents.
After a teammate contracted the corona virus, two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar worried about being infected. Above all, he sees the proximity to the fans during a stage as a source of danger. "Every day people on the climbs yell at you, which I like, but it increases the likelihood of contracting viruses," said the Slovenian.
On Saturday his helper Vegard Stake Laengen had to retire because of a positive test. Pogacar hopes the virus isn't in the team bubble and that the Norwegian actually contracted it from a fan. "I hope that's it and that we're safe until the end."
The leader of the tour does not see Corona as an invisible rival. "Covid is not a rival. It's just a virus that can affect things and ruin a tour," said Pogacar. Rivals are drivers from teams like Jumbo and Ineos. The 23-year-old was optimistic that his UAE team would still be strong enough with seven riders.
After six professionals had to withdraw before the start of the tour due to positive tests, things were quiet in the world's largest bike race for a long time. On Saturday morning, alongside Laengen, Frenchman Geoffrey Bouchard from the AG2R team tested positive. In the 2020 and 2021 editions, the tour entourage was strictly isolated and moved in its own bubble. The concept worked, there was no positive case.
Since this season, the world association UCI has relaxed the rules again. Many teams test voluntarily in order to detect diseases in good time. The next mandatory tests are not due until the rest day on Monday. A positive corona finding no longer necessarily means that a driver will be excluded this season if the virus load is low and he is symptom-free. At the week-long Tour de Suisse, more than 40 riders had to get out early in the run-up to the tour due to a corona wave.
