Jonas Vingegaard was not exactly thrilled when Emmanuel Macron came closer and closer to him on the podium. This was not because the Tour de France leader disliked the French president. Rather, it was because of what Macron was wearing - or not wearing. Masks are still compulsory in certain areas of the Tour of France, which Macron ignored during his detour.
This is the back story:
The Giro d'Italia shocked the cycling scene in May. More than ten riders had to withdraw before or during the race with a positive corona test. When the overall leader Remco Evenepoel was also caught after a week, the organisers reintroduced the mask requirement.
Masks are therefore compulsory:
On the one hand, the organiser ASO is worried that the Tour will lose its stars and degenerate into a farce due to the many coronavirus cancellations. Tests are not mandatory, but many teams still carry them out to protect their riders. The top teams, such as Jumbo-Vismo, therefore put pressure on them not to do without masks during the Tour. Many press conferences take place virtually.
These are the rules:
Masks must be worn whenever there is contact with a driver. This is why TV interviews often show the interviewer wearing a mask. In addition to journalists, other team members and the drivers themselves are also required to wear a mask in the paddock, i.e. the bus car park at the start and finish.
That is absurd:
The paddock is open to the public and spectators are not required to wear masks. This leads to bizarre scenes in which journalists wearing masks ask a masked rider questions and autograph hunters stand right next to them without any face masks. The mask requirement is not enforced by the Tour, but most of those affected comply with it.
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