Remco Evenepoel testing positive for COVID-19 is a Vuelta a Espana 'doomsday scenario' says Lefevere

SALOBREA SPAIN SEPTEMBER 01 Remco Evenepoel of Belgium and Team QuickStep Alpha Vinyl Red Leader Jersey prior to the 77th Tour of Spain 2022 Stage 12 a 1927km stage from Salobrea Peas Blancas Estepona 1260m LaVuelta22 WorldTour on September 01 2022 in Salobrea Spain Photo by Tim de WaeleGetty Images
(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

QuickStep-AlphaVinyl team manager Patrick Lefevere has described the possibility of Remco Evenepoel testing positive for COVID-19 while leading the Vuelta a España as a “doomsday scenario”, saying the Belgian team is doing everything possible to prevent cases of the virus in its Spanish squad. 

23 riders have so far tested positive for COVID-19 at the 2022 Vuelta a Espana including Simon Yates (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers). On Friday Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates tested positive but was allowed to stay in the race due to having a low viral load.  

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.