Trek-Segafredo have been given the green light to ride Wednesday’s Dwars door Vlaanderen after a series of final pre-race COVID-19 tests came back negative.
However, former world champion Mads Pedersen and Alex Kirsch will not be part of Trek-Segafredo’s line-up. They were deemed to be a close contact with one of Trek-Segafredo’s COVID-19 cases and will have to stay in isolation until Saturday. They can train outdoors alone but will have to test negative in final testing to be allowed to ride Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.
In a test early this week, Edward Theuns' COVID-19 test was inconclusive and the team have decided to withdraw him from the roster and will start with only five riders.
"We took the decision to undergo two extra PCR tests on Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th for all riders in the classics bubble, including Pedersen and Kirsch. No riders returned a positive result from either test, however in the latest test Edward Theuns returned an inconclusive result," Trek-Segafredo announced late Tuesday.
"It is possibly a trace of the virus, but not enough to be contagious or return a positive value, according to Dr [Jens] Hinder. It is a particular case that we will consider with the UCI. Nevertheless, we have decided to withdraw Theuns from Dwars door Vlaanderen."
Trek-Segafredo missed Gent-Wevelgem after at least two members of the team tested positive across Friday and Saturday. The team did not reveal who the cases involved but Pedersen and Kirsch were deemed to be close contacts. Other riders, including Milan-San Remo winner Jasper Stuyven, were not considered close contacts and are able to race.
Stuyven will lead the team at Dwars door Vlaanderen with Koen de Kort, Ryan Mullen, Kiel Reijnen, and Quinn Simmons completing the five-rider team.
