All 22 teams will start the 10th stage of the Tour de France after their riders tested negative for COVID-19, organisers said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that four members of staff had returned positive tests.
French health authorities and organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) had said that should two members of a team, riders or staff, test positive for the novel coronavirus, the whole outfit would be excluded from the race.
“A total of 841 tests were performed. No rider has tested positive for Covid-19 or is considered a contact case requiring quarantine. One staff member each from Cofidis, AG2R La Mondiale, Ineos Grenadiers and Mitchelton-Scott have tested positive and left the race bubble.
“A technical service provider has also tested positive and has left the race.”
A Deceuninck–Quick-Step staff member did have to be retested after a laboratory error, but has since tested negative.
“As you will have seen, it has been reported that a member of our team staff was collected from our team hotel this morning.
“An error was made in the laboratory with the sample that the individual gave yesterday, meaning they were taken for re-testing this morning.
“The result of this second test has been returned as negative and we will continue”, a statement from the Belgian team said.
