COVID at Giro d'Italia

[GooooMarquette]

After the Tour de France successfully made it through three weeks without any real Covid problems, the Giro d'Italia is facing a crisis. One week into the three week race, two full teams plus a couple of other big-name riders have withdrawn for testing positive.

Should be interesting to see if this spreads further. There's lots of close, unmasked contact among riders in the peloton, and there are still teams in the race that have had individuals pulled for testing positive. Yikes!

https://sports.yahoo.com/giro-d-italia-thrown-chaos-131226530.html

[The Sultan]

After the Tour de France successfully made it through three weeks without any real Covid problems, the Giro d'Italia is facing a crisis. One week into the three week race, two full teams plus a couple of other big-name riders have withdrawn for testing positive.

Should be interesting to see if this spreads further. There's lots of close, unmasked contact among riders in the peloton, and there are still teams in the race that have had individuals pulled for testing positive. Yikes!

https://sports.yahoo.com/giro-d-italia-thrown-chaos-131226530.html

I really doubt they are catching this in the peloton. 

[GooooMarquette]

I really doubt they are catching this in the peloton.

Maybe not while they are riding. But just before the starting gun goes off, you have 150 riders packed elbow to elbow standing in place. Being outside helps, but when you are packed into a large group in a small place, there can still be transmission.

See, e.g. Rose garden.

[The Sultan]

Maybe not while they are riding.

That's what the peloton is.

[GooooMarquette]

That's what the peloton is.

In casual talk among cycling enthusiasts, "the peloton" is also used generally to refer to the riders who are participating in the event.

[The Sultan]

In casual talk among cycling enthusiasts, "the peloton" is also used generally to refer to the riders who are participating in the event.

OK. 

[GooooMarquette]

OK. 

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/25-valuable-riders-mens-peloton/

Ya think they had these guys ride together in a close group while they ranked them? After all, they did refer to it as the 'peloton.' Then again, it's only VeloNews, so what do they know? 

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Oh good. A fight about cycling.   

You'd think all their doping would solve covid.

[mu03eng]

Oh good. A fight about cycling.   

You'd think all their doping would solve covid.

Steriods beat Covid....or so I've been led to believe.

[GooooMarquette]

Steriods beat Covid....or so I've been led to believe.

So maybe the riders in the Tour were juiced, but the riders in the Giro are clean....

[GooooMarquette]

UCI announce further rounds of COVID-19 testing at Giro d'Italia

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-announce-further-rounds-of-covid-19-testing-at-giro-ditalia/

The move comes after several members of the peloton have spoken about safety and the race 'bubble'. Jos Van Emden, whose Jumbo-Visma team left the race after Steven Kruijswijk's positive test, said that the Dutch squad dined alongside four other teams, police and other race staff, as well as the general public.

Before the start of stage 12 on Thursday, Lotto Soudal rider Thomas De Gendt spoke of how he is "starting to feel unsafe" at the race, while EF Pro Cycling later wrote to the UCI and RCS Sport requesting the race be stopped on Monday, also requesting two rounds of testing before the rest day.

In response, RCS Sport has agreed to the requests from teams and the UCI and will put on further testing rounds over the next two days.

-------------

If things have been as loose as described, it won't be surprising if more cases are discovered today and tomorrow.

My understanding from the Tour was that each team was sequestered in a 'team bubble' (separate from the other teams, race officials and the general public) after each stage. Here, it seems like half the peloton is staying at the same hotel and eating in a large dining hall with other teams and the public. Not a big shock that the Tour's strategy worked better.

[GooooMarquette]

Fortunately, the additional testing over the past couple of days did not yield any new positives. Hopefully they tightened the safety protocols so they can safely make it through the last week.

[GooooMarquette]

Another rider tests positive at Giro, with 5 days to go.

https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-italy-fernando-gaviria-milan-colombia-663f0ce1a280b2f71c52edab7d472ed8

Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria became the latest cyclist to test positive for the coronavirus and be withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday as the race heads toward an uncertain conclusion this weekend.

A staff member for Team AG2R La Mondiale was the only other positive out of 492 tests carried out Sunday and Monday to coincide with the race's second rest day, organizers RCS Sport said.

The race is scheduled to end Sunday in Milan, the capital of the Lombardy region which is putting in place a nightly curfew beginning Thursday because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in an area already hard hit during the first wave of infections earlier this year.