Peter Sagan catches COVID in build toward Tour de France

This article originally appeared on Velo News

Peter Sagan returned to the COVID ward this weekend.

Sagan confirmed on social media Sunday that he had caught the virus for a third time and has left the Tour de Suisse.

“Yesterday, Saturday, after the finish of Tour de Suisse stage 7, I was given a COVID-19 test by the TotalEnergies doctor. Unfortunately, it came out positive. I have no symptoms, and I feel well but, as per the rules, I have to abandon the race,” he wrote.

The Tour de Suisse has been decimated by a rampaging wave of COVID.

The entire Jumbo-Visma, UAE Emirates, Bahrain Victorious and Alpecin-Fenix teams already left, along with huge proportions of other top squads on the race.

Sagan won stage 3 of the Swiss race earlier this week after only recently recovering from the “long COVID” that crippled his spring campaign. The 32-year-old caught coronavirus for the second time during the off-season and was derailed by lingering symptoms for months afterward.

Also read: Peter Sagan returns to training after medical checks

Sagan and his TotalEnergies team will be hoping for a far faster recovery this time around.

The French team is all-in for supporting Sagan at the Tour de France, which rolls out of Copenhagen in just 12 days.

“It’s a pity but that’s the way it is,” Sagan wrote. “I thank you for your support and I will keep you posted.”

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