July 15, 2022
Be it due to injury, illness or a positive Covid-19 test, these are the riders who have abandoned the Tour so far in 2022
Finishing the Tour de France is an achievement in itself. Every year, some riders don’t manage to make it to the famous final sprint stage on the Champs-Élysées be it due to crashing or picking up illnesses along the route as immune systems are weakened with the physical load of a Grand Tour. The threat of Covid-19 in recent years has made things even more complicated: on rest days, both riders and staff have to take tests and, if positive, they have to leave the race.
Unlike last year, where we saw multiple mass crashes early on in the Tour de France, the opening week of this year’s race wasn’t quite so hectic in terms of accidents. This means not as many riders have abandoned after crashes, but many have suffered illnesses which have ruined their chances of finishing one of cycling’s toughest stage races.
Perhaps one of the most affected teams in this year’s Tour when it comes to riders abandoning is that of race favourite Tadej Pogačar. UAE Team Emirates lost key domestique Vegard Stake Laengen on stage eight following a positive Covid-19 test. A few days later, following further rest day tests, George Bennett also returned a positive result and was forced to abandon.
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Polish rider Rafał Majka also tested positive after the race’s first full rest day, but further examinations from the UCI and UAE Team Emirates doctors determined that his levels of infection were low enough that he was not at risk of contaminating other riders. This means that Pogačar is down two domestiques, with a further third teammate likely not performing at his highest level.
Ben O’Connor of AG2R Citroën Team (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix)
AG2R Citroën Team’s Ben O’Connor is another of the big names to have to leave this year’s race, but not due to Covid-19. The Australian yellow jersey hope tore his glute muscle in stage eight to Lausanne and the pain meant it was too hard to continue for the 26-year-old. “It’s like pedalling with one leg. I fought it yesterday, I really wanted to see if I can get past this point of pain [but] it’s just too much. It’s like having a knife in your arse, more…