09 September,2020 07:33 AM IST | Saint Martin De-Re | AFP
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme must leave the race and quarantine for a week after a positive COVID-19 test but all the riders were negative, organisers announced before the start of Tuesday's 10th stage. Prudhomme, who is asymptomatic, said he had tested negative for COVID-19 three times before this year's rescheduled race started on August 29 but the positive came from the first of two in-race mass tests of riders, team staff and officials.
His role as chief organiser means he attends numerous Tour-related social events, and on Saturday he shared his car with French Prime Minister Jean Castex who visited the eighth stage in the Pyrenees. Following news of Prudhomme's positive test it was announced that Castex himself would undergo a precautionary test. The prime minister's office said he and Prudhomme had worn masks "and respected social distancing" measures. Prudhomme, who has been in charge of cycling's showcase event since 2007, told AFP: "I leave the Tour now for a week, I'm going to do what any French employee would in this kind of case."
He added: "I'll be watching the Tour on television, something I haven't done for 15 years." Prudhomme said he was not surprised that the peloton was free from coronavirus, saying "the riders live like monks or soldiers, which is not the case with me."
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