The formation of Julien Jurdie and Vincent Lavenu takes a new blow behind the head. After the abandonment of all ambition in the general classification with the failure of Ben O’Connor on Friday on La Super Planche des Belles Filles, AG2R-Citröen announced in a press release this Saturday morning the withdrawal of Geoffrey Bouchard from the Tour de France roads after a positive antigen test the evening before. He is the first runner to leave the Grande Boucle due to a positive Covid test. There are 171 riders left in the race.
” During the stage, I did not feel welltestifies the Frenchman who, at 30, participated in his first Tour de France. It’s a big disappointment because I was entering my favorite terrain, the mountains”. His team assures that all the runners and staff have all tested negative Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Geoffrey Bouchard, 111th in the general classification of the Tour at 30’44” behind Tadej Pogacar, has only one pro victory in the Tour des Alpes 2022 and distinguished himself on the slopes of La Planche des Belles Filles in 2018 during the 2nd stage of the Tour d’Alsace, continental stage race (2.2). The Dijonnais had been selected for the Tour de France 2022 among the eight riders of AG2R Citroën for his offensive character and his mountain abilities in order to support Ben O’Connor, the Australian leader who was dropped by the favorites on Friday, in the final ascent of the 7th stage won by Tadej Pogacar.