(Reuters) – Jumbo-Visma rider and yellow jersey holder Primoz Roglic said on Monday he and his team have tested negative for COVID-19 after the second round of tests on Sunday and Monday, ahead of stage 16 of the Tour de France.
The rules in place this year state that should a team have two positive cases, the whole outfit will be thrown out of the race.
“They said that we were negative so I’m happy that we have one more week of racing,” Roglic said.
However, a team spokesman remained cautious as he said the results of the staff members were not out yet.
“We are not allowed to confirm that,” he said. “Anyway, not all our results are known yet.”
Slovenian Roglic leads by 40 seconds ahead of Tuesday’s mountain trek between La Tour du Pin and Villard de Lans.
Second-placed compatriot Tadej Pogacar appears to be the only credible threat, after defending champion Egan Bernal dropped out of contention when he cracked in the ascent to the Col du Grand Colombier.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot, Writing by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
