It has just been announced that two riders hailing from the teams Cofidis and Israel Premier Tech will have to withdraw from the Tour. The decision came in on 30th June, Thursday morning. The two riders namely Daryl Impey (Israel Premier Tech) and Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) had to pull out of the Tour because their Covid-19 tests came positive. Although Bob Jungels, of AG2R Citroën, has been given a go-ahead to take part in the Tour. He is not contagious anymore.
#TDF2022 @bryancoquard remplacé par @PerichonPLuc
Des tests successifs menés par le staff médical de l’équipe Cofidis ont révélé un retour positif au Covid-19. Conformément à la politique de l’équipe et en accord avec ASO et l’UCI, il ne sera pas au départ demain @LeTour pic.twitter.com/MPbCilK47i— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) June 30, 2022
Pierre-Luc Périchon will replace Coquard and Guy Niv will take the place of Impey. Bob Jungels almost missed the tour with his COVID-19 positive testing scare, but he has been allowed to take part because of the revised COVID-19 testing policy. He had to take further testing before joining the tour.
AG2R Citroën made an official release on the press saying:
Following a PCR test carried out on Wednesday that revealed a slight viral load, @BobJungels underwent a new PCR test this morning
They further shed light on the situation:
The result of this test confirms that he’s not contagious. The medical management of the UCI confirms he will be able to participate in @LeTour
Such a pardon was not in Daryl Impey’s destiny, since the poor chap was also not a part of the team’s presentation on Wednesday. All his hopes to return to Copenhagen with a negative test result in hand, went down the hole on Thursday morning as both his PCR and antigen tests showed positive results.
Absolutely gutted not be at the start in Copenhagen this year for @LeTour. Worst nightmare.
My reaction herehttps://t.co/IojT91FKdr
I wish all my teammates all the best for the race and hope they can have a successful race!#TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/Yb5EDE73s4
— Daryl Impey (@darylimpey) June 30, 2022
At the beginning of the week, Omer Goldstein had to swap places with Guillaume Boivin. Impey had a good start to the year by winning stage 4 at Tour de Suisse. He also won a stage at the Tour of 2019.
These events have left him feeling frustrated and at the end of his wits, as he implies in a video message:
It’s frustrating, I don’t see how the Tour is going to get through the next three weeks if they’re going to test people every two or three days. Coronavirus is something we’re just going to have to live with it
He said that he felt no symptoms whatsoever and was just feeling fine:
COVID got me during the week – no symptoms, so it’s very frustrating for me
The 37-year-old had to sit out of the Tour de France last year also, due to a crash he met at the Ruta Del Sol finale. He had a broken pelvis but despite all his frustration of missing the Tour two times in a row, he is still grateful for making progress. He is a true example of sportsmanship. In his own words:
There are some positives to take: last year, I was in a wheelchair watching the Tour de France, I’m still healthy, so I have got something to put things in perspective for myself
Also Read: Tour De France: Lotto Soudal Out For Revenge With Caleb Ewan Onboard
Featured Image Via YouTube/ euronews
