Eleven months after Sagan contracted the coronavirus last year, Sagan said on social media on Tuesday that he and his brother Yurai had once again tested positive for nucleic acid.
"My brother Yurai and I had a nucleic acid test and unfortunately the test turned positive. We have already had some COVID-19-related symptoms, and are now cooperating with the relevant departments to carry out follow-up isolation and treatment in accordance with their requirements, and I will release the latest progress to you at any time."
Sagan was scheduled to unveil the 2022 TotalEnergies race equipment on Jan. 10 before heading to a training camp in Calpe, Spain.
However, under France's latest regulations on covid-19, he must now quarantine at his home in Monte Carlo for at least five days and undergo another nucleic acid test to make sure he is negative to lift the quarantine. Under the UCI's medical agreement for COVID-19, he will also need to undergo a series of tests to confirm that he can participate in training and competitions.
Sagan was supposed to make his Total team debut at the Tour de San Juan in Argentina, but due to the pandemic, the stage of the race was cancelled in early February.
On February 6, 2021, the Bora team issued an official statement saying that Peter Sagan tested positive for nucleic acid at a training camp in Gran Canaria and confirmed to be infected with the new crown virus. Also posing positive on the same nucleic acid test as Sagan were his brother Juraj Sagan and driver Erik Baka, also from Slovakia, all of whom were mildly ill.
According to Spanish prevention and control regulations at the time, they had to quarantine for 10 days. The quarantine affected Sagan's start-of-season form, when he gave up the White Road Race in Italy and then started his 2021 season at Tirreno-Adriatico. He then finished fourth in Milan-San Remo and then included Volta a Catalunya in his racing schedule. This means that he only played in flanders for a multi-day race before the Tour de La Tour de Las Emmantis and only finished 15th.
He played well in the Tour de Liberté, winning the sprint in the S10 Foligno stage, winning a single-stop title, putting on the WRI sprint king purple shirt and wearing it to the end. But during the Tour de France S3 stage, he collided with Caleb Ewan, and in the subsequent race, Sagan took an injury and continued to play until he had to retire due to a knee infection before the S12 stage.
Last November we reported that Sagan will join Total Energy in 2022 by signing a two-year contract that will help the French team grow, take to a bigger stage and win more impactful events. He joined Total Energy Racing and also brought Sportful, a lightning bike and jersey brand with whom he had a good relationship, into the team and became an important equipment sponsor.
Sagan also gave an explanation of why he joined Total at the time, saying that manager Jean-René Bernaudeau's enthusiasm impressed him and made the decision. In an interview with foreign media, he said: "There are several teams that are interested in me, but Benodo's team is the most sincere to me.
In late November last year, Sagan was fined 5,000 euros by a Monegasque court for violating a covid-19 curfew in April and injuring a police officer while being stopped with his brother Yurai, for which he has now publicly apologized.
Edit: Johnny
Image source: Infographic Gallery & Total Energy Team official website