“Today, I haven't done much, morale is not very high. Arnaud Démare lets his dismay appear. The Groupama-FDJ team sprinter, stranded with his teammates in an Abu Dhabi hotel since the Tour of the United Arab Emirates was stopped last Thursday, has just learned that he must remain confined in his room until 'to March 14. Six new cases of Covid-19 were indeed revealed Tuesday evening, in connection with the first two which had led to the interruption of the race.
The Cofidis and Gazprom (Russia) teams are also affected, the others having been able to leave the country last weekend. "There was a lot of work done before the start of the season, family sacrifices, and there we are in slow motion, physical fitness is declining," continues Demare. It's hard to swallow. "
The sprinter has already drawn a line under his next objective, Tirreno-Adriatico (March 11 to 17), probably on Milan-San-Remo (March 21) - if the races are maintained - and perhaps on other classics as well . “We have to realize that they are in a completely unknown situation, and so do we,” explains Frédéric Grappe, director of performance for Groupama-FDJ. Usually, when athletes cut or do not train, they continue to have a certain energy expenditure. There they are confined in a restricted environment. "
"Everything shattered"
Good news this Wednesday, Démare, Gaudu and their teammates, all tested negative for coronavirus for the moment, were able to recover their disinfected bikes. On Instagram, Arnaud Démare expressed his satisfaction in his own way by posting a photo of his home trainer: "This time, let's go," wrote the winner of Milan San Remo 2016. Big challenge awaits us to prepare the 2020 season in a hotel room. "
"We are working to see what we can make them do because the difficulty is that we do not know exactly what food and water supplies they have," says Grappe. Normally, this race was to be used to fine-tune the settings after large training sessions. Everything was shattered. It's like a guitar with broken strings. "
"The concern is mainly psychological"
At best, the runners will therefore remain three weeks without being able to ride as they intended. What to threaten the rest of their season? "The problem is not so physical because if we take the time, if we don't try to skip the stages, we manage to get back in shape after a few weeks," says Grappe again. The concern is mainly psychological because we do not know the damage caused by this forced isolation. "
The runners spend long moments in communication with their loved ones but the time stretches inexorably. They must also combat the fear of contamination which would further prolong their stay. "When they come back, we will have to see things with each of them," emphasizes the researcher in sports sciences. The work will be individual. They will not react the same way and it will not take the same time for everyone. It is often at this time, when you find your loved ones that psychological problems arise. It will be necessary to accompany them. "
