Max Schachmann's participation in the Tour de France is in doubt after he tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the German championships. The Bora-Hansgrohe rider will miss Sunday's road race title defense in Sauerland.

"Due to a positive test for COVID-19, Maximilian Schachmann will unfortunately miss this weekend's German Championships. The impact on his participation in the Tour de France cannot yet be estimated."

Beulah Hansgrohe added that she intends to announce the eight Tour selections on Sunday.

Schachmann had bad luck in the 2022 season. He had already tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of the year and was then forced to miss the Ardennes Classics due to illness. His hopes of winning the Tour de Suisse overall were ended by a crash in the finale of stage 3, but he rode strongly after that, finishing 10th overall and leading Sergio Iguita to the podium.

Team leader Alexandre Vlasov, who had worn the yellow jersey in the Tour de Suisse, was forced to abandon the race after testing positive for COVID-19 shortly after winning stage 5 in Novazzano. Anton Palzer and Marco Haller also abandoned the Tour de Suisse after testing positive for COVID-19.

Vlasov, who joined from Astana in the winter, has been one of the outstanding riders of the season, winning the overall at the Tour de Romandie and Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, and is expected to lead Bora-Hansgrohe's overall battle at the Tour de France He is expected to lead the overall race for Beulah Hansgrohe in the Tour de France.