
The Vuelta a España peloton has been put on alert after an Intermarché-Circus-Wanty rider tested positive for Covid-19 just a day before the race gets underway.
Belgian sprinter Gerben Thijssen was struck by the pandemic virus on the eve of his third participation at the Vuelta, and though UCI rules no longer state that a positive infection must result in withdrawal from a race, Thijssen and his team opted to send him home; he has been replaced by Simone Petilli, an Italian climber.