Effects of coronavirus on professional races

[Krzysztof_O]

The rules need to be changed ASAP.

Treating Covid like the bubonic plague is the problem, i.e. when a rider who won a hard stage (Vlasov) is forced to retire the following morning due to testing "positive" for a sickness which evidently had zero effect on him, it becomes unworkable.

By nature, Cycling is an extreme outdoor activity in which its actors will occasionally get sick or injured. This is part of the sport. But you just can't kick them out of the race like this for so little.

So Vlasov is out, jeez. Yeah, it's too much. Imagine Roglic or Pogacar withdrawn from the Tour due to a COVID test (the latter actually was withdrawn from FW due to a false positive).

 

[Amazinmets87]

The rules absolutely have to be amended prior to the TDF.

 

[carolina]

Riders might not have symptoms while they're chilling at the hotel, but they might appear during the stage while they're at a high effort. We know covid can affect the lungs severely and doing a 4-5h bike ride with huge efforts does not seem like a good idea.

If I was a pro athlete and had covid, I would refuse to ride, even if I showed no symptons.

 

[BR2]

Riders might not have symptoms while they're chilling at the hotel, but they might appear during the stage while they're at a high effort. We know covid can affect the lungs severely and doing a 4-5h bike ride with huge efforts does not seem like a good idea.

If I was a pro athlete and had covid, I would refuse to ride, even if I showed no symptons.

I find it almost impossible to say what's best. On the one hand a pro athlete, with the high effort, the heat and everything will probably endanger their body if they ride despite being positive. On the other hand, how are races to be held then? Numbers are rising everywhere, the new variants are so contagious, it's impossible that during a race like the Tour not half the peloton gets it. We need better research to assess the risk for pro athletes, but we don't have that yet.

 

[Davesta]

The nonsensical contradiction for me, is the fact that riders routinely continue to ride (and I’m sure are encouraged or forced to do so by their teams) when they have bronchitis or broken bones or other ailments that are surely damaging to their long term health & wellbeing. But in contrast, drastic measures are taken for covid positives.

 

[yaco]

The UCI and the teams will and should not change the current protocols - It should be noted that these protocols are standard throughout most elite, professional sprints.

 

[saganftw]

bubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubble

there are just too many problems with it, during a 3 week race every team is in danger,masks should be back on the menu yesterday,limited number of fans in the finishing area,daily testing and so on

or postpone it to like october or something if making adjustments is impossible in 3 weeks

 

[Amazinmets87]

bubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubble

there are just too many problems with it, during a 3 week race every team is in danger,masks should be back on the menu yesterday,limited number of fans in the finishing area,daily testing and so on

or postpone it to like october or something if making adjustments is impossible in 3 weeks

Postphoning sounds like the best option. 1 day races work in this climate; stage races, not so much.

 

[houtdffan]

It's probably an unpopular opinion and I may be biased because all vaccinated people close to me who had covid had only mild or no symptoms. But I really think if a rider tests positive but is feeling fine he should be allowed to race. Whole teams pulling out because of 1 or 2 cases is ridiculous. It's hard to build up hype for any race if everyone's dropping out like this.

Of course they should be allowed to race. There is very little outdoor transmission anyways

If a rider is too sick to continue, they withdraw. The same as it has always been

 

[Escarabajo]

Probably need to pin this thread again.

 

[Escarabajo]

bubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubble

there are just too many problems with it, during a 3 week race every team is in danger,masks should be back on the menu yesterday,limited number of fans in the finishing area,daily testing and so on

or postpone it to like october or something if making adjustments is impossible in 3 weeks

Bubble and all the preventive actions that they had in place in 2020 should be on for this Tour. It is just that everyone in the western world just went on with their lives, but for the athletes they should still be very careful.

Just put all the required measures again and be done with it. Everyone, including fans and athletes, will be thankful for it.

 

[CJCycling]

Is it ever going to get back to normal or is this the new normal? Obviously they must have ended the preventive actions too soon, but I just don't know who or what to believe anymore.

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Of course they should be allowed to race. There is very little outdoor transmission anyways

If a rider is too sick to continue, they withdraw. The same as it has always been

I'd be more worried about a team/staff passing amongst themselves. The road isn't the only place they're with people and there are plenty instances of indoor close contact. For example, are you going to have your positive rider(s) drive a separate car himself for every transfer?

 

[Bolder]

Yeah, I think cycling is going to need to go back to a bubble system within the teams. If they don't you can guarantee the Tour will be a disaster.

Fans can take care of themselves. I know outside airborne transmission is much less likely than indoor, but maybe also restrict fans on the climbs so they're not in the roadway.

 

[JosefK]

About half the people I know (family and friends/neighbors) have had Covid. I've had it (for me, it was worse than a head cold but not as bad as the flu). It seems to be as endemic as colds and flu. It's going to persist. At some point, I would think that measures for Covid would become whatever they are for colds and flu. For some events and populations, possibly no measures at all should be taken. Just an opinion. I'm borderline demented, so factor that in as well.

 

[Bolder]

bubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubblebubble

there are just too many problems with it, during a 3 week race every team is in danger,masks should be back on the menu yesterday,limited number of fans in the finishing area,daily testing and so on

or postpone it to like october or something if making adjustments is impossible in 3 weeks

^^I think this is the best course.

I'm among those nutjobs who are still wearing masks on mass transit and in big, crowded stores. But I have some health issues that could make getting covid a disaster.

 

[saganftw]

Ah here we go again. The doctors from University of facebook are crawling out of the woodwork again.

nothing to do with faceboook and everything to do with a fact that at some point we will have to just keep living with it whether its spreading or not, unless oyu want to get vaccinations every 6 months, lot of people are done with vaccinations anyway already, obviously its a bit different for professional athletes but sooner or later all precautions will have to stop

 

[Unterlenkerfahrend]

nothing to do with faceboook and everything to do with a fact that at some point we will have to just keep living with it whether its spreading or not, unless oyu want to get vaccinations every 6 months, lot of people are done with vaccinations anyway already, obviously its a bit different for professional athletes but sooner or later all precautions will have to stop

That doesn't relate to what the previous poster wrote at all and I don't see how this is even relevant right now. No one is demanding vaccinations every 6 months, barely any country has restrictions anymore anyway, so I don't really understand what the "keep living with it" crowd is demanding - it's exactly what we're doing right now.
The main question here is simply how sports organizer should handle the situation and I don't see a Gladiator style "let them just nuke it out" is a sensible approach.

 

[yaco]

Yeah, I think cycling is going to need to go back to a bubble system within the teams. If they don't you can guarantee the Tour will be a disaster.

Fans can take care of themselves. I know outside airborne transmission is much less likely than indoor, but maybe also restrict fans on the climbs so they're not in the roadway.

I know that JV and BEX are already in a bubble system which was strictly enforced at the Giro.

 

[Ricco']

Regarding racing while infected, came in contact with the case of a well trained athlete who during a track competition who went there feeling normal and without any symptom and almost fainted in the end of a run, something that never happened during the whole career (which spans for at least 12 years) and, according to the never, never felt so bad before (it was a 10/11 minute effort). That night did a test and came positive, despite having no symptoms.

So, being assymptomatic doesn't say much indeed regarding corona and physical exertion.

 

[FroomeWagon]

Might be time to lay some bets on TDF longshots. Who knows how the podium might be affected.

 

[yaco]

Believe the TDF will have to allow teams to enter 10 riders for this edition - You can only start eight but you change riders until the day of the first stage in case of positive cases before the race starts.

 

[wirral]

Might be time to lay some bets on TDF longshots. Who knows how the podium might be affected.

Froome?

 

[BR2]

If I'm able to stay in this forum for 6 more months without losing it again I will apply for a moderator's job.

 

[RedheadDane]

If you write something incorrect, you're going to get corrected.
If you find errors in my post, you can correct them as well.
Like a proper adult.

Could you guys please take this to the Covid thread down in the Cafe, so the rest of us can concentrate on discussing how Covid affects racing, please?