AG2R Citroën's Geoffrey Bouchard and UAE Team Emirates' Veghar Stake Rengen became the first riders to leave the 2022 Tour de France after testing positive for COVID-19 after stage 7 on Friday night.

Bouchard tested positive for the antigen at the team hotel after the stage to La Super Planche des Belles Filles and was immediately quarantined from the other riders and staff before leaving the race.

AG2R Citroën conducts antigen tests every three days in addition to the mandatory tests conducted by Tour organizer ASO, which confirmed Thursday night and Friday morning that the other riders on the team tested negative.

"I was not feeling well during the stage," Bouchard said in a statement released by the team. It's a shame because we were just approaching my favorite mountainous course."

"It was my first Tour de France and I'm sad it ended this way. I wish my teammates all the best and send my best for the rest of the Tour de France."

AG2R team doctor Serge Niamke confirmed the team's testing regime and details of Bouchard's positive test.

"Since the start, the AG2R Citroën team has had antigen tests every three days in addition to the tests carried out by the Tour de France organizers. On Thursday evening or Friday morning, the entire team, including riders and staff, were tested for antigens, and the results were negative for the entire group."

"We have also conducted antigen tests every three days for the AG2R Citroën team in addition to the tests conducted by the Tour de France organizers.

"We have had a very strict protocol in place for months to ensure the health of our riders and management. We are sorry about Jeffrey, whom we were counting on for the next few days." The Tour is not over yet and we still want to be at the front when we arrive at the mountain stages."

The same was true for Lanegen, who after showing symptoms Friday evening, tested positive for PCR on Saturday morning before stage 8.

"Vegal was negative yesterday morning in a routine team test," said UAE Team Emirates doctor Adriano Rotunno. 'But late last night he complained of a sore throat, the COVID-19 antigen test was positive, and this morning's PCR test confirmed the diagnosis.'

"In accordance with protocol, for the safety of him, the team and the peloton, he will withdraw from the race.

Bouchard's and Rehngen's withdrawals come on the heels of Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious), Daniel Oss (Total Energies), and Michael Gogle (Alpecin Deceuninck), who crashed on the cobbled stage 5, and Alex They are the fifth and sixth riders to leave the race this year, following Kirsch (Trek-Segafredo), who left the race on stage 6.

Before the Tour de France began last Friday, several riders were removed from the start list due to COVID-19. Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), Samuele Battistella (Astana Kazakstan), and Tim DeClercq (Quick Step Alpha Vinyl) tested positive for the virus a week before the start, while Israel Premier Tech's Daryl Impey and Omer Goldstein of Israel's Premier Tech had to miss the Tour as closely infected.

Merijn Zeeman, sport director of Jumbo Visma, and Quick Step staff, including Tom Steels of DS, also missed the race after testing positive.

Quick Step Alpha Vinyl suffered a further positive test earlier this week, causing two director sportifs, Wilfred Peters and Klaas Lodewijk, to leave the race.

Prior to the Tour, the UCI announced updated COVID-19 guidelines to address the re-spread of the virus in Europe.

The "strongly recommended measures" introduced by the UCI include daily antigen testing for all athletes and staff and, for the duration of the competition, for team members, UCI Commissaires, UCI Technical Delegates and anti-doping control personnel "daily if possible, at least two or three days every other day."

This includes antigen testing "every other day if possible.

On the Monday rest day, the following tests will be conducted and all team members (including all UCI staff mentioned above) will be subject to antigen testing.