Tadej Pogačar’s teammate abandons Tour de France after testing positive for Covid

Spanish climber Juan Ayuso has abandoned the Tour de France after testing positive for Covid. 

According to an initial report from Spanish outlet AS, Ayuso - a teammate of the current race leader Tadej Pogačar - recently tested positive in an internal team Covid test. However, due to the test returning "very low positive values" he was initially able to continue to ride. 

However, the Spaniard climbed off his bike during the start of stage 13 on Friday not long after the stage began. UAE Emirates later confirmed to media that Ayuso had tested positive for the virus. 

Ayuso had reportedly spent a few days with "very bad feelings", particularly after Monday’s rest day. An examination from the UAE Emirates doctor after his positive test result initially cleared him to continue in support of Pogačar. 

UAE Emirates are now taking internal measures to try to avoid contact between Ayuso and other riders, according to the report. Ayuso also told AS that he was "fine" before taking to the startline in Agen on Friday morning. 

Cycling Weekly has approached UAE Emirates for comment in relation to Ayuso’s condition. 

AS state that Ayuso arrived at the start in a team van, separated from his teammates, and that he has also been eating meals away from his fellow riders. 

News regarding Ayuso reportedly testing positive for the virus follows on from a handful of riders abandoning the race due to illness in recent days. Mark Cavendish’s key leadout man at Astana Qazaqstan, Michael Mørkøv, did not start stage 12 on Thursday due to testing positive for Covid. 

Bahrain Victorious are also two riders down after Fred Wright and Pello Bilbao both abandoned due to illness. Wright later said that he had "fallen victim" to "sickness going round in the peloton" after he missed the time cut during stage 11. 

Cycling Weekly reporters on the ground at the Tour noted that a large number of riders and team staff were wearing face masks at the start of stage 13 in Agen. This included all of Remco Evenepoel’s Soudal Quick-Step squad, including staff members. EF Education-EasyPost riders were also seen wearing face masks. 

This is thought to just be a precautionary measure, and not as a result of "positive tests". 

Meanwhile Primož Roglič abandoned the Tour on Friday morning after crashing and losing time on stage 12. 

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe announced that Roglič would not start stage 13 in order to recover from injuries sustained in the fall. 

The German team also lost Aleksandr Vlasov to injury after last weekend’s gravel stage in Troyes. Vlasov fractured his ankle after crashing into a ditch during one of the gravel sectors. 

Cycling Weekly will update this story when more information regarding Ayuso's positive test result is known.