The Jumbo-Visma team has withdrawn from the Tour de Suisse, revealing that COVID-19 has "snuck back into the team."

"For the health of the riders and staff, and to protect the peloton and the race, the medical and sports management of the Dutch team considers the withdrawal from the Swiss stage race the most sensible decision," Jumbo-Visma said in a statement.

"This decision was made in consultation with the management of the Tour de Suisse (open in new tab).

The Jumbo-Visma (open in new tab) team has not disclosed which riders or staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 and insists that the COVID-19 fiasco has not yet affected the Tour de France (open in new tab) team.

Tour de Suisse race director Olivier Sen told Velo Pro Net (open in new tab) that he pulled the entire team and staff from the race on Thursday morning because there were four positive people on the team.

Team DSM then revealed that Cees Bol, Casper Pedersen, and Søren Kragh Andersen were COVID-19 positive. The other Team DSM athletes continued to race. A number of athletes also abandoned the race due to illness or fatigue.

"We will have to wait and see what happens, but so far the shortlist for the Tour de France has not been affected.

Primoš Roglic, Wout Van Aert, and other riders expected to compete in the Tour de France raced the Criterium du Dauphiné. The Jumbo Visma lineup for the Tour de Suisse included Rohan Dennis, Sepp Kuss, Robert Gesink, and Mike Tunissen.

Jumbo-Visma had delayed its selection for the Tour de France due to concerns over the COVID-19 incident.

The team stated that the decision to cancel the Tour de Suisse was due to "daily testing of both riders and staff to ensure that corona cases can be isolated as quickly as possible. Mouth covers, air purifiers, and the use of private rooms are still common within the team."

The team also stated that "the use of a mouse cover, air purifiers, and private rooms is still common within the team.

Despite its precautions, the Jumbo-Visma team has suffered several cases of COVID-19.

The team closed its January training camp in Spain and withdrew from races after cases were detected, and Van Aert was forced to miss the Tour of Flanders after testing positive. Marianne Vos was forced to miss the Classics after contracting the virus.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the peloton has decreased in recent months and the sport has reduced some restrictions. However, a number of infections have been reported due to the recent Tour of Norway.