The UCI reinforces the COVID protocol for grand laps due to the increase in cases

   MADRID, 28 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has published this Tuesday an updated version of the COVID protocol within the new context of the pandemic derived from the coronavirus, according to which it is obligatory to present a negative antigen test of all the members of a team two days before of the start of the race, among other measures, to respond "to the need to reinforce the medical surveillance of the platoon and the members of the team".

According to the UCI statement, this health protocol was drawn up by a management group under the responsibility of the organization's Medical Director, Xavier Bigard, and made up of representatives of riders, teams, team doctors and organizers.

The changes announced this Tuesday in the protocol, which had been updated for the last time on January 24, 2022, mainly affect the grand tours and respond to the need to reinforce the medical surveillance of the platoon, team personnel and officials before a epidemiological situation "changing characterized by an increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19 recently reported".

Mandatory, at least one negative antigen test of all team members (runners and staff) must be presented two days before the start of the race; As well as on the rest days of the event, antigens will be made to all team members (riders and staff), as well as to the Commissioners (International and National), UCI Technical Delegates and doping control personnel.

In the event that a positive case is confirmed within a team, be it a rider or staff member, the decision to potentially isolate the case will be made collectively by the team doctor in question, the event COVID-19 doctor and the Medical Director of the ICU, based on the clinical elements available.

In addition, the UCI announced other "strongly recommended" but not mandatory provisions. Thus, he advises in the five days prior to the race to carry out daily antigen tests on all team members to verify that no one is a carrier of the virus, which is "essential for the constitution of the team bubble and the peloton bubble." Something that they see as favorable also to do during the race, if possible daily, but at least every two or three days.

In addition, this new protocol eliminates the rule that authorized the organizer to withdraw from the race any team that had two or more runners who tested positive for COVID-19 PCR tests within seven days.

The president of the UCI, David Lappartient, recognized that he sees "necessary to reinforce the current measures" to guarantee that the races can be held "successfully and to protect the health of the participants". "Although the situation we are currently experiencing with the pandemic is less worrying than what we saw at the height of the health crisis, we must remain vigilant," he urged.

"In this sense, I call on all parties involved to continue to scrupulously respect all the provisions of our health protocols. This discipline and solidarity have allowed us to maintain our activities during the last two years and will allow us to face in case of that the pandemic worsens in the future," settled Lappartient.