Cycling - Tour de France - Stage 9 - Aigle to Chatel les Portes du Soleil - France - July 10, 2022 General view of the peloton crossing the finish line after stage 9 REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
MORZINE, France (Reuters) - The International Cycling Union (UCI) said that all Tour de France riders had returned negative COVID-19 results from tests conducted on Sunday.
Staff members will be tested on Monday, which is a rest day on the Tour, organisers told Reuters.
Three riders in two days had to pull out of the race after being infected with the novel coronavirus and showing symptoms, raising fears that the bunch could be decimated when all riders were tested after Sunday's ninth stage.
However, the UCI said in a statement on Monday: "All tests were negative."
Last year, if two members of a team tested positive for COVID the whole outfit would be sent packing, which is not the case in this edition.
Whether a rider who tests positive can stay in the race is decided following a meeting between race, UCI and team doctors, depending on the rider's viral load.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
