After the Remco Evenepoel pink jersey was abandoned due to a positive covid test, the Giro organizers decided to strengthen the health protocol.
Looking back… While some thought the coronavirus pandemic was a done deal, the disease has made a comeback to the Giro peloton. While a few riders, mainly teammates of leaders, had to leave the route of the Tour of Italy during the first week due to a positive test (N.Conci, Aleotti, Russo), it was then the turn of a rider little better known (Ganna, Uran), then a thunderclap fell on Sunday on the Giro, with the abandonment of the pink jersey Remco Evenepoel, also affected by the covid.
Following this announcement, the race organizers have decided to strengthen the covid protocol. Thus, masks become compulsory again in the signing area on the morning of the start, but also on the finish line and in the doping control area, in the bus parking lot, around the podium or even in the mixed zone.. However, runners are not required to undergo testing, as at the height of the pandemic.
“Should we have done it sooner? Probably “
“The original protocol is no longer in place and the World Health Organization no longer classifies COVID-19 as an emergency. This means that each team can do tests if they wish. They can decide whether or not to stop a runner. We may have all stopped focusing on it too soon. We will re-introduce the rules that were dropped. We won’t limit how people can work on the race, but anyone who wants to interact with the runners will be required to wear a mask. Should we have done it sooner? Probably”, recognized the director of the Giro Mauro Vegni in the columns of The Sports Gazette.
The International Cycling Union had officially ended the covid protocol at the start of the 2023 season, but some teams had decided to continue to take precautions, such as Jumbo-Visma which asks its riders to continue wearing a mask.
