Pidcock out of Tour de France with Covid

Britain’s Tom Pidcock is out of the Tour de France because of Covid-19.

The 24-year-old, who narrowly missed out on a second Tour stage win when he finished second on stage nine, will not start Saturday’s stage 14.

Pidcock is set to defend his Olympic mountain bike title on 29 July and also compete in the road race on 3 August.

A statement from his Ineos Grenadiers team said: “A disappointed Tom Pidcock will not line up for stage 14 of the Tour de France today.

“Tom is experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 and under advice from our medical team will now return home to recover.”

Pidocck is the third rider to withdraw from this year’s Tour because of Covid after Juan Ayuso, team-mate of race leader Tadej Pogacar, and Michael Morkov, Mark Cavendish’s lead-out man.

Matt Warwick, BBC Sport senior journalist

A few significant names now gone from the race with Covid. Pogacar’s domestique Juan Ayuso, Mark Cavendish’s top lead-out man Michael Morkov, and Pidcock.

Britain’s Fred Wright and Spaniard Pello Bilbao abandoned for Bahrain-Victorious with unspecified illnesses, but Covid protocols have been activated within the team.

Others have also left ill. The yellow jersey himself had Covid 10 days before the race, so could be OK. All eyes will be on the remaining two of the ‘big four’, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard.

Evenepoel had to leave last year’s Giro d’Italia with Covid, while Vingegaard suffered serious lung injuries in April, so their teams will be cautious.