Peter Sagan catches COVID in build toward Tour de France
Slovak star infected for third time, exits Tour de Suisse: 'I have no symptoms, and I feel well.'
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Peter Sagan returned to the COVID ward this weekend.
Sagan confirmed on social media Sunday that he had caught the virus for a third time and has left the Tour de Suisse.
“Yesterday, Saturday, after the finish of Tour de Suisse stage 7, I was given a COVID-19 test by the TotalEnergies doctor. Unfortunately, it came out positive. I have no symptoms, and I feel well but, as per the rules, I have to abandon the race,” he wrote.
The Tour de Suisse has been decimated by a rampaging wave of COVID.
The entire Jumbo-Visma, UAE Emirates, Bahrain Victorious and Alpecin-Fenix teams already left, along with huge proportions of other top squads on the race.
Sagan won stage 3 of the Swiss race earlier this week after only recently recovering from the “long COVID” that crippled his spring campaign. The 32-year-old caught coronavirus for the second time during the off-season and was derailed by lingering symptoms for months afterward.
Also read: Peter Sagan returns to training after medical checks
Sagan and his TotalEnergies team will be hoping for a far faster recovery this time around.
The French team is all-in for supporting Sagan at the Tour de France, which rolls out of Copenhagen in just 12 days.
“It’s a pity but that’s the way it is,” Sagan wrote. “I thank you for your support and I will keep you posted.”