The Vuelta a España has been hit by its first case of COVID-19, with Gerben Thijssen (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) forced to pull out hours before starting his third Vuelta a España.
The Belgian sprinter tested positive on Friday and will be replaced by Italian climber Simone Petilli.
Last year the Vuelta a España was hit by multiple cases of COVID-19, with 23 riders quitting, and in the Giro d’Italia this spring Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) was amongst the 16 riders forced to abandon for the same reason.
A winner of the Bredene Koksijde and the GP Jean-Pierre Monseré one-day races this spring, Thijssen was set to ride his third Vuelta this August.
He told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad on Friday that he had noticed a drop in his power output while training earlier this week, but was keen to relativize his last-minute withdrawal from the race.
“This is a shame, of course,” he told the newspaper. “ But when you hear that Tijl De Decker died after a training accident, you quickly put things into perspective. “
“This is a very uncomfortable situation for me right now. But once you're sick, it's time to turn the button and on to the next course.”
The Vuelta continues to maintain some access restrictions and health precautions in the race, with media enduring limited access at starts and finishes. Surgical masks remain obligatory when in contact with the riders, although not in other areas of the race.
A positive test for COVID does not mean automatic exit from a race, with riders who have a low viral load sometimes opting to continue.
A UCI press release this week about COVID-19 health protocols stated that “In the event of a case of COVID-19 within a team, confirmed by an antigenic test or by a PCR test (whether it concerns a rider or a member of staff), the decision to isolate and withdraw the rider from the race will be taken collectively by the team doctor concerned, the Covid-19 coordinator for the event and the UCI Medical Director, on the basis of the clinical elements available and the results of the Covid-19 test.”
