Frenchman Guillaume Martin did not take the start of the ninth stage of the Tour de France this Sunday after having tested positive for covid, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said.
Nor did the Danish Kasper Asgreen, with knee discomfort, and the Portuguese Ruben Guerreiro, due to an illness unrelated to covid. Eighth in the last edition, Martin was fourteenth in the current one, 3.02 behind the leader, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
Martin is the second cyclist forced to leave the Tour since its inception, after the Norwegian Vegard Stake Laengen, from the UAE team in the yellow jersey, did so this Saturday.
It is the first time Martin has been forced to abandon a stage race before its finish since turning pro in 2016.
The Frenchman from Cofidis has participated in eight grand tours, including that of Spain in 2020 where he finished as king of the mountain and eighth overall, his best result.
Martin, renowned for his solidity on the bike but also known as the philosopher cyclist, for his love of philosophy, chained 362 days without giving up.
The UCI indicated that the runner was excluded after a college of three doctors, his, the team’s and another from the organization, analyzed the results of the covid tests to which he was subjected.
This is the application of the new protocol, which does not require the automatic abandonment of positive cyclists, only those who are considered to have sufficient viral load to be contagious.
Martin’s positive comes a day before the second day of rest, in which all cyclists will undergo covid controls. In parallel, the teams carry out tests on their cyclists, while taking extreme precautions to avoid contagion.
Martin’s is the second positive at Cofidis, after that of “sprinter” Bryan Cocard the day before the start of the race in Copenhagen, which allowed them to replace him with his compatriot Pierre-Luc Périchon.
The UCI recalled its recommendation to wear a mask, maintain a safe distance and wash your hands regularly to avoid contagion.
