Published October 13, 2020 08:08AM
Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the Giro d’Italia peloton with two full teams and one additional rider all leaving the race after a handful of positive tests.
In a joint announcement with the UCI, RCS revealed on Tuesday morning that two riders — one from Sunweb and one from Jumbo-Visma — had tested positive for the virus and had been “entrusted to the respective teams’ doctors who ordered their isolation measures”. Jumbo-Visma later confirmed that the affected rider was Steven Kruijswijk, the team’s GC leader and one of the pre-race favourites.
Kruijswijk had a private hotel room and no other Jumbo-Visma rider or staff member has yet tested positive. Jos van Emden explained on The Cycling Podcast that earlier this Giro d’Italia several teams were in the same hotel, along with motorbike police, Shimano neutral service, and regular guests. They all shared the same hotel dinner buffet.
Sunweb, meanwhile, has confirmed that Michael Matthews was its rider who tested positive.
“After undergoing a PCR test at yesterday’s Giro d’Italia rest day, Team Sunweb’s Michael Matthews has tested positive for COVID-19,” the team said in a statement. “He is currently asymptomatic, feels healthy and after receiving the results early this morning, he is now in quarantine.
“Following two rounds of negative COVID-19 test results on Friday and Saturday, the team was notified of four positive results for staff members from testing conducted on Sunday evening,” the team announced via a press release. “Upon receiving the results, Mitchelton-Scott immediately withdrew its team from the race and will focus on the health of its riders and staff and their safe movement to areas of quarantine.”
General manager Brent Copeland said the team had withdrawn “as a social responsibility to our riders and staff, the peloton and the race organisation”. He explained that the affected individuals “remain asymptomatic” or have “mild symptoms.”