Majka injured after chain break
The Pole Rafal Majka, the Slovenian's most important helper in the mountains, did not start the 17th stage to Peyragudes on Wednesday. The 32-year-old had suffered a partial tear to his thigh muscle the day before when his chain broke on the final climb. This was announced by his team UAE Emirates with.
This means that Pogacar now only has one helper in the mountains in US American Brandon McNulty. The UAE team now consists of only four riders in total after the Spaniard Marc Soler, who fell ill, dropped out of the time limit on Tuesday. The Swiss Marc Hirschi and the Dane Mikkel Bjerg are rather specialists for flat and hilly stages.
Corona at Wellens
Meanwhile, the Belgian Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) tested positive and has to leave the race. He had mild symptoms, his Lotto-Soudal team announced before the 17th stage. Wellens was a distant 121st in the overall standings.
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