Jul 14, 2022 - Sports

Tadej Pogačar loses Tour de France lead after teammates get COVID

Kendall Baker

Climbing the Alps in the Tour de France — Climbing the Alps. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP via Getty Images

The Tour de France's two-time defending champion Tadej Pogačar lost the yellow jersey in the Alps on Wednesday, thanks in part to a familiar opponent: COVID-19.

Driving the news: After losing two key teammates (and nearly a third) to positive tests, Slovenia's Pogačar stumbled during the first big mountain stage and now trails first-place Jonas Vingegaard by over two minutes.

Catch up fast: UAE Team Emirates teammate Vegard Stake Laengen, who rode the past two Tours at Pogacar's side, left last week after a positive test.

On Tuesday, Pogačar lost George Bennett, a talented climber who would have helped him tremendously on Wednesday.
A third teammate, Rafal Majka, also tested positive on Tuesday — but was allowed to continue because his viral load presented "a very low risk of infectivity," per the team.

Where it stands: Denmark's Vingegaard went from 39 seconds behind Pogačar to 2 minutes and 22 seconds ahead of him. Pogačar fell to third on general classification, six seconds behind France's Romain Bardet.

"We were talking about Tadej against the world," said cyclist turned analyst Robbie McEwen. "Now it's Tadej versus COVID."
"I want ... revenge," Pogačar said Wednesday. "It's not over yet."

What's next: Today's Stage 12 (of 21) comes on Bastille Day and features three big climbs and a mountain-top finish at the Alpe d'Huez ski resort.

Go deeper: Recapping an extraordinary Stage 11 (The Telegraph)

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Tadej Pogačar loses Tour de France lead after teammates get COVID

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