Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert pull out of Tour de Suisse after COVID-19 positive
Belgian team decides not to start stage 4 to protect race bubble
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert have pulled out of the Tour de Suisse after a member of staff tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
After learning of the result of the test, which was taken ahead of stage 3, the Belgian team decided not to take to the start of stage 4 on Wednesday morning.
"Our team withdraws from Tour de Suisse following a positive COVID-test of a team member to limit the risk of contagion inside the team but also for the race bubble," read a statement from the team.
"All pre-race COVID-19 tests of all team members were negative, but an additional test performed on Tuesday morning revealed a staff member is positive despite of not showing any symptom. In agreement with the race organiser and the UCI, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux will not start in Stage 4 of Tour de Suisse."
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert came to the Tour de Suisse led by Jan Hirt, but the Czech climber was already out of general classification contention, sitting fourth bottom after finishing near the back on all three stages.
The team’s best-placed rider was Lorenzo Rota in 26th, 1:17 down on race leader Mathieu van der Poel. The squad was rounded out by Simone Petilli, Georg Zimmerman, Baptiste Planckaert, Pieter Vanspeybrouck, and Maurits Lammertink.
“The decision to withdraw was not easy to take, but we want to be cautious and protect the race bubble after one team member tested positive yesterday even if the rest of the group were all negative,” said team director Jean-François Bourlart.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
“Our priority is riders’ and staff members’ health so we decided to withdraw from Tour de Suisse in consultation with the race organiser. We will keep monitoring the team’s health and focus on the next goals.”
The team’s exit is the first COVID-related withdrawal from a major race since the spring, when Alpecin-Fenix did not start the Volta a Catalunya, UAE Team Emirates were unable to ride La FLèche Wallonne, and Bora-Hansgrohe and Trek-Segafredo both missed some of the cobbled Classics.
More recently, Israel Start-Up Nation scrapped five races – Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau, Dwars door het Hageland, Elfstedenronde, Belgium Tour, and Adriatica Ionica – from their June calendar after three COVID cases among their staff.
The Tour de Suisse continues on Wednesday with a fourth stage that features a late climb, before the terrain becomes increasingly mountainous towards the end of the week.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.