Pre-race COVID-19 testing at the Vuelta a España resulted in two positives from team staff but none from riders.

Team Sunweb staff and Bahrain McLaren staff tested positive, according to a joint statement issued by Vuelta a España organizers and the UCI on Monday at noon.

Both have been isolated by the teams' medical staff and will be followed up; it is not clear to what extent or what contact the two had with riders or fellow staff after their arrival in Spain.

Prior to Sunday's race, 498 inspections have been conducted so far, covering the majority of riders and staff participating in the Vuelta. According to a press release from the Vuelta UCI, no riders tested positive.

Testing is still ongoing for a small number of riders and staff who arrived late from the Tour of Flanders, and final results will be announced before the start of stage 1 on Tuesday.

All individuals participating in the Vuelta a España (whether riders, staff, organizations, or media) must prove negative in a PCR test at least 5 days before the race.

Vuelta has set up a mobile laboratory of 18 staff to perform up to 750 PCR swab tests per day.

At the Giro d'Italia, two Astana riders were replaced before the start in Sicily, and at the Tour de France, two Lotto Soudal riders tested positive in pre-race tests. Astana dropped Yuriy Natalov and Vadim Plonsky after teammate Zandos Bizhitov tested positive for COVID-19.

No riders tested positive in the Tour de France, but Simon Yates (Mitchelton Scott), Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo Visma), and Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) tested positive on the first rest day of the Giro d'Italia. tested positive.

Cycling News reported that the Vuelta applies the same "two-strike team out" rule as the Tour de France, and if two riders on a team test positive, that team is eliminated from the race.