The Tour of Burgos, from 28 July to 1 August, in the north of Spain, is the first professional race official from the containment with the participation of the French Groupama-FDJ. Health measures exeptionnelles and very expensive are put in place.The rider, the breton Groupama-FDJ David Gaudu. (MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP)
This is the big day for the cyclists. After a four-month break, the season resumes Tuesday, July 28, in the north of Spain with the 42nd edition of the Tour of Burgos, from Tuesday to Saturday. This race is popular with climbers because of its altitude is the first race of professional cycling official from the containment. It is the launching pad for an end of season which is a busy one, picked up on three and a half months of competition.
A French team is at the start, the Groupama-FDJ Arnaud Démare and David Gaudu. Its leader, Thibault Pinot will take him on the Road to Occitania from Saturday to Tuesday. The riders are restarting under high surveillance one month before the Tour de France.
200 000 euro of additional costs for the health measures
End of February February, David Gaudu and training Groupama FDJ ended up confined for a fortnight in their hotel Abu Dhabi after the detection of several cases of coronavirus on the Tour of the Uae. Then, at the time of resuming the competition, the young rider, the breton felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension : “I think that in the peloton, everyone will more or less paying attention to others. The voltage is going to be even a notch above”.
And to avoid this growing tension, application of sanitary measures strict are respected by the teams. “It’s a big gym for us for the important races, “explains Jacky Maillot, the chief medical officer of Groupama FDJ. For example, we have two tests to do, six days prior to departure, three days before departure. In the team, we will not have a guest. It is equipped with the means to disinfect all the buses, all the hotel rooms and all the vehicles.” All of these health measures represents, in total, for the Groupama FDJ, an additional expenditure of about 200,000 euros for three and a half months of racing this season, according to the doctor.
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— Cycling team Groupama-FDJ (@GroupamaFDJ) July 28, 2020
A truck-laboratory on the Tour de France
If a positive case was detected in the peloton, the international cycling Union has taken of other provisions, details Jacky Jersey : “The UCI has asked each organizer to have a referent Covid. It is he who will give us directives. By and large, we can assume that we are going to organize a screening. We, what we would like, as team physicians, “continues Jacky Maillot, is to have screenings with the results fast enough because if we go in a laboratory at 30, 40 km, time to make an appointment and have the results, the start will be given and you risk to stop runners who are quite free from Covid. On the Tour de France, for example, just give us guarantees that there will be a truck-laboratory-outpatient.”
If the rider is positive, it will be quarantined and return to the house.Jacky Jersey, medical director, Groupama FDJà franceinfo
“After that, we will be forced to track all the contacts, and if there are several cases in a team, it will be when even the exclusion of all positive cases, it is obvious.”, assigned by the medical director. Last march, a few days before the confinement in France, a Paris-Nice shortcut had ran without the appearance of the virus and with the removal measures of the public who will be rolled over for the Tour de France in one month now. The Big Loop will be a true test, the first global sporting event post-containment.
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