Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) is the latest rider to abandon the Tour de France 2022, after testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of stage 13.
He consequently becomes the 18th rider to withdraw from the race, after Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Oliver Naesen (AG2R Citroën) quit the Tour midway through stage 12. Van der Poel claims he couldn’t match the intensity set in the race, and decided to leave the Grand Tour early as a result.
Only nine of the 22 teams now have a full compliment of riders, most notably among them Jumbo-Visma, whom yellow jersey leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) rides for. His main GC rival, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), is now in a squad with just six riders, which could prove crucial as the race heads towards Paris.
AG2R Citroën are the worst hit team in terms of withdrawals, though, with only five riders filling their roster now. UAE Team Emirates, TotalEnergies and Alpecin-Deceuninck have all lost two riders themselves.
Teams have cited a mixture of reasons for riders withdrawing, with Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange-Jayco), George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Stake Vegard Laengen (UAE Team Emirates) and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën) all testing positive for Covid-19 like Barguil, while Gianni Moscon also retired from the race during stage eight. The Italian is still struggling from post-Covid fatigue, after he contracted the virus at the start of 2022.
Last year, 42 riders didn’t manage to finish the Tour de France, with the Olympics playing a major role in those withdrawals. With eight stages still remaining, there’s potential for plenty more dropouts – which Cycling Weekly will keep updated stage-by-stage.
Tour de France abandonments
Stage 13
Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic, DNS – Covid-19 positive
Stage 12
No-one
Stage 11
Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, DNF – fatigue
Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën, DNF – bronchitis
Stage ten
Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën, DNS – glute injury
George Bennett (NZl) UAE Team Emirates, DNS – Covid-19 positive
Luke Durbridge (AUS) BikeExchange-Jayco, DNS – Covid-19 positive
Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) TotalEnergies, DNS – illness
Stage nine
Kasper Asgreen (Den) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, DNS – knee injury
Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis, DNS – Covid-19 positive
Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-EasyPost, DNS – illness
Stage eight
Stake Vegard Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates, DNS – Covid-19 positive
Geoffrey Bouchard (Fra) AG2R Citroën,…