Patrick Lefevere has said some pro teams were testing riders with possible Covid-19 symptoms on the morning of races, then letting them start the event while they waited for the test result to come back.
He added his sports director Brian Holm had told him Covid-19 cases were peaking in Denmark, just as the Tour was about to start there, and this had caused him to “hold my breath”.
However, QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl boss Lefevere said the relationship between the quality of precautions and the number of positive tests within a team was not straightforward, meaning an outbreak in a team was not proof that standards had dropped within that squad.
He was speaking as the European pro scene has seen a wave of positive cases over the last week – especially at the Tour de Suisse where the field has been decimated and several teams have withdrawn. Lefevere suggested some teams were going to great lengths, even in their riders’ personal lives. However, others had procedures in place that he questioned.
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He said while his own team had a positive case this week - Louis Vervaeke at the Tour de Suisse - its “prevention policy has never been relaxed”.
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“We still use the same hygiene measures: distance, mask, regular testing and as few contacts as possible," he wrote in his Het Nieuwsblad column on Saturday. "At Alpecin-Fenix, riders are apparently advised to stay away from family gatherings, but I find that difficult. A driver, meanwhile, also has the right to a social and family life.
“I am not pointing the finger at any affected team – there is never a direct correlation between the level of prevention and the number of cases. But the fact is that there are negligent teams. Doctors who test a rider with symptoms in the morning, but then put him on a bike.
“If the test turns out to be positive, they will remove him from the bike during the race. But in the meantime, of course, he has blown his nose three times in the peloton.”
Lefevere saw one of his star riders, Remco Evenepoel, suffering badly on the climbs in Switzerland this week, though he went into the race in great form and had climbed very well at the Tour of Norway. He said he was concerned Evenepoel may have Covid-19. However, this was not the case and the team was trying to work out the reason for his below par performance.
He believed Evenepoel’s form had spiked in Norway because he had done an altitude camp immediately before it. And he suggested it may have been wiser to do that camp before Switzerland rather than Norway. However, the standard in Norway was also "lower" than in Switzerland.
