Arnaud Demare contracted COVID-19 before the Volta Ao Algarve, forcing a further delay in the start of the season.

The Frenchman was originally scheduled to make his 2023 debut at last week's Tour of Antalya, but the race was canceled in the aftermath of major earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Demare was then scheduled to compete in the Volta ao Algarve, but was not included in the lineup announced by Groupama-FDJ on Monday; L'Équipe reported Tuesday afternoon that Demare has not fully recovered from the COVID-19 infection he developed last week It reported that.

Demare is expected to start the season on February 26 at the Cune Brussel-Cune, followed by Paris-Nice and Milan-San Remo. Demare was the last rider to win La Primavera in a group sprint, winning in 2016 ahead of Ben Swift.

After winning three stages and the points jersey at last year's Giro d'Italia, Demare ended his career with a victory in Paris-Tours in 2022. During the offseason, Groupama-FDJ disposed of a key element of his lead-out train, but the 31-year-old hopes to reach 100 career wins (91 in total) and return to the Tour de France in 2023.

Last month, Groupama-FDJ's Tour GC leader David Gaudu apologized to Demare after comments he made about the sprinter on the Discord platform were leaked to social media. On January 20, Gaudu wrote in the chat room: "I don't care if Netflix is good or bad, I'm not going to be a part of it."

Groupama-FDJ sent the core of its classic team to Volta ao Algarve, where Stefan Küng is leading the pack. Joining the Swiss rider on the team will be Valentin Maduas, Jake Stewart, Luis Askey, Myles Scottson, Olivier Le Gac, and Paul Penhoé.