Tour de France leader Tadej Pogachar faced a second setback on Tuesday after his teammate George Bennett abandoned after testing positive for COVID-19 and a second major mountain rider, Rafal Majka, was also confirmed positive by his team.

However, the Polish climber was cleared to continue

in a similar situation to stage 9 winner Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroen), as his viral load was deemed low and not contagious. Along with teammates Vegard Stake Rengen and Bennett, he became the third UAE Team Emirates player to test positive since last Friday morning.

In a statement released during Stage 10, UAE Team Emirates medical director Adriano Rotunno said: "In accordance with internal regulations, Rafal Mayka was tested for Covid-19 and tested positive this morning. He was asymptomatic and the PCR analysis showed that, as in the case of Bob Jungels earlier in the race, the risk of infection is very low.

"Following protocol, we reported to the UCI medical team this morning and allowed Rafal to start just before the race departure. We are aware of Rafal's clinical symptoms and are monitoring his situation closely."

Majka's COVID-19 positive, following Bennett's abandonment, is more bad news for Tour leader Tadej Pogachar, who has three important Alpine stages this week. Pogachar himself has described Thursday's stage to Alpe d'Huez as the "queen stage" of the entire Tour.

As for how Majka can continue racing despite testing positive for COVID-19, as Cyclingnews reported on the case of Jungels at the start of the Tour, the answer lies in the CT (short for Cycle Threshold) score) lies in what is called a "score.

PCR testing is performed by a device that sucks up virus particles while circulating the sample. The longer it takes to find the virus, the higher the CT score and the lower the amount of virus. The fewer cycles required to detect the virus, the lower the score and the higher the viral dose.

Rotunno himself told Cycling News at the start of the tool: "Viruses are strange things. Viruses are strange things, and even weeks or months after being infected, they can still test positive in PCR tests."

"The virus is a mystery."

"The virus is a mystery.

"PCR can pick up old viruses, called viral ghosts. Even if you have an old virus, it is not infectious, but because the PCR is positive, people will think, 'This person is positive.'"

Rotunno did not specify the number needed to be considered not infectious, but Thomas Klimaschka, a doctor at AG2R Citroen, told Cycling News that a CT score above 35 is considered safe. He also noted the importance of a multi-day examination to check whether the score is going up or down, but UAE Team Emirates has not clarified whether this is the case for Majka.

In any case, the decision will be made collectively after a tripartite consultation between the team doctor, the race doctor, and the UCI's chief medical officer.

Rotunno noted that the CT score is only one piece of the puzzle.

"They also have to take clinical photographs, check for any physical abnormalities, check for fever, and if possible, check for heart activity. And if everything checks out and you are medically cleared, you can run safely and not have an infection, despite what is listed on the PCR," he said at the start of the tool.

"It's not always black and white, but in general you can make a logical decision. It could be abused, but you would want to have all the criteria in place to make sure it's safe."

Along with BikeExchange-Jayco's Luke Durbridge, Majka is the third rider to test positive for COVID-19 since the entire Tour de France peloton was tested Sunday evening as part of the rest day protocol. No other riders tested positive.