Tadej Pogacar: Tour de France winner part of UAE Team Emirates ‘collective vaccination’

Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar has taken part in the first “collective vaccination” against Covid-19 in sport, say his UAE Team Emirates outfit.

The team took a newly approved vaccine trialled in the United Arab Emirates.

Pogacar, 22, won the Tour in September following one of the most dramatic finishes in the race’s history against fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic.

Sprinter Fernando Gaviria – who contracted coronavirus twice during 2020 – was also inoculated.

“The whole team is delighted to have been given the opportunity to protect ourselves and others through taking the vaccine,” said UAE Team Emirates principal Mauro Gianetti.

Gaviria, 26, is regarded as one of the world’s best sprinters, but had suffered poor form before it emerged he had contracted the virus in February.

After returning to action, the Colombian competed at the Giro d’Italia in October, but withdrew from the race when he again tested positive.

BBC