The number of infections, which is increasing again, does not stop at cycling. A corona outbreak at the Tour de Suisse set the alarm bells ringing two weeks before the start of the Tour de France. Yesterday’s sixth stage of the Tour of Switzerland, in which Marchtrenker Felix Großschartner was able to improve to fifth place overall after eleventh place, three other teams, Alpecin, Emirates and Bahrain, did not compete. For a few other professionals – above all the overall leader Alexander Wlasow (Bora) – the race was also over due to positive corona notifications. Almost 30 drivers were missing yesterday.
Among them is Michael Gogl. The Wolfsegger had not started on Thursday – i.e. the day before his Alpecin racing team left as a unit due to two positive corona tests. “Currently I’m ‘only’ sick, but not positive – until now,” said the 28-year-old when asked by OÖN about symptoms of a flu infection.
Nervousness among the teams
With the eruption within the World Tour circus, there is growing nervousness that the more contagious Omicron variant BA.5 will upset the following season highlight in France. A positive test could rob favorites of all chances in one fell swoop.
“I think the fear is already going around in the peleton (field of drivers, note). There will be corona tests on the rest days of the tour and anyone who is positive has to go home,” says Merijn Zeeman, sporting director of the jumbo, which has also dropped out -Visma teams, opposite “Sporza” from a nightmare scenario. No wonder, since drivers and teams invest months in preparation for the Tour of France.
Gogl may (still) be corona negative, but the infection alone is already “suboptimal”, as he describes it diplomatically. “I’ve been in very good shape lately and of course there’s a lot of work to do.” But that is now in danger. Now he has no choice but to see how his health is developing from day to day. (pue)
Portrait of Felix Großschartner page 40
Source: Nachrichten
