In the midst of all the fury of an intense and unpredictable war of the GC, an ongoing war of the Tour de France had receded in the news cycle, only to reappear with all its might at the dawn of the day of rest: the COVID- 19 pandemic.
The lack of positive evidence from the instances of the Lotto Soudal team and the staff of the meeting in Nice is obviously a scenario in which no news is actually smart news, although the next cyclist test run via ASO is scheduled for today [Monday], with effects expected to be released on Tuesday morning.
Thus, despite the relative calm, the Tour remains suspended on the same pandemic-shaped precipice that has done so in the last 10 days, and will do so until Paris.
For groups, therefore, it is essential to keep their “bubbles” as healthy as you can imagine under the circumstances. And it’s worth remembering that behind the scenes, no matter how many steps are marked or come, the daily lives of the application groups of many procedures to minimize the threat will remain unchanged.
“We have a 40-page protocol to cover each and every facet of what we do,” says Jeroen Swart, medical manager of UAE Team Emirates, who drafted the document for his team. “It is evidence-based and aims to advise brokers. staff in all its activities.
Established a month before the Tour, or earlier, Swart reviewed a number of other study articles from other sports, especially football, and the steps they had taken, such as the arrival of their own paintings and conclusions in protocols.
“We do everything from typical measures, which everyone knows, such as hand sanitist masks and responses at various bus and car locations, to additional measures, such as installing an air filtration unit on the bus to help viruses. Contamination.
“Then we have other protocols, from how we handle food preparation, to massages and almost everything that happens on one basis. “
The protocols also adapt to the professional activities of each individual within the team, while another specific measure of the UAE is that Swart has brought more degrees of testing beyond those required by ICU fitness regulations and those that are carried out. through ASO every day of rest. Each individual in the UAE Team Emirates Tour bubble has been tested 3 times, before the race, and other ongoing tests are taking a position on the Tour.
“We’d have a while doing more than we already are,” Swart says.
However, in all cases, but especially in an operation with so many moving parts, such as the Tour de France, there is no limit or zero threat when it comes to taking COVID-19.
In addition, Swart argues: “We have noticed in several events that this virus continues to look at us, so there is no way to say that we are at a point where we fail.
“The truth is that we have to face the threat as much as we can, and then see the surprises that await us. We’ll be located. “
Each squad has elements of its own strategy, based on the criteria of its medical team, but Swart says team doctors have communicated over time to talk about internships to every degree and group methods when possible.
“We are fortunate to have enough resources to do almost everything I, as a doctor, dictate that we do, and I hope this will get us to Paris safely,” Swart says, acknowledging that everyone has as deep an economic wallet as a team from the United Arab Emirates. As he says, “finance, of course, is a component of the equation of what a team can do. “
The United Arab Emirates had one of the first instances of COVID-19 in WorldTour in March, with Fernando Gaviria giving positive for coronavirus at home, and Swart acknowledges that the scenario that happened functioned as a warning and a large-scale look for the team. about “how temporarily [contagion] can get out of hand. “
“We had only one individual as the oldest case, and I don’t think I had one,” he says. “But despite early isolation from their symptoms and other precautions, such as dressing in masks, we ended up with 8 other people who contracted the virus.
“This gave us a very smart indication of how temporarily things can get out of hand and how we want to take containment measures,” Swart continues. “I hope other groups and Americans will see how temporarily this can get out of hand. “
Control of the virus is a learning curve for everyone, however Swart says that to date, there has been no replacement in UAE protocols to the excursion itself.
“But who knows?” We’re still in the early stages and anything can happen, but we can adapt things on the fly. “
The overall weakening of cyclists’ immune formula as the balance of the step-by-step race is done day after day is, says Swart, a widespread long-term threat that ASO has “anticipated”.
One way to do this, he explains, is that “in their protocols, there are steps to treat other people who may have symptoms, but who may not necessarily have COVID, so the installation for pre- and post-stage testing is for each and every day of the Tour, not just the days of rest. “
Results should be taken within a maximum of six hours and isolation measures, if necessary, are implemented in this period.
In general, Swart argues: “I think it’s as smart as we can expect in terms of what we can and can’t do, and we’ll have to live with those conditions as they arise.
“The luck is that on this tour everyone wears mask and washes their hands regularly, and we are in bubbles. It also decreases the threat of viral infections in particular, and will decrease the onset of such ailments as the Tour progresses.
“Obviously, there are other possibilities: threat of bacterial infection that occurs in general organisms, sinusitis, etc. But in fact I suspect that the infection rate would be lower than what you would have in a Tour. week, however, the logic is that it is “, He says.
The ASO rule of “two strokes and you are absent”, which briefly facilitated the preparation of the Tour, was completely restored from Stage 1 due to the tightening of fitness regulations through the French government. team doctors and aso before the tour, Swart said, and some fitness protocols were changed accordingly.
It remains to be noted how long all the measures of these groups will be maintained, but given the current rate of vaccine progression and the time it would take then for mass production and deployment, there is no chance of them being lifted before the deadline. end of the 2020 season.
By contrast, Swart predicts that they will likely continue for “at least” six months, which would be a hypothetical relief from the situation in March next year, at the start of the 2021 season.
“From there, I think there will be slow risk relief and we can replace protocols properly,” Swart says.
But for now, the battles of the groups the scenes will continue so fiercely, if not more, than the ones before us on the television screens each and every day of the Tour.
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