Ineos Grenadiers rider Tom Pidcock is back on the bike after a quick recovery from COVID-19.

Pidcock left the Tour de Suisse last Friday morning after testing positive for the virus, putting his participation in the Tour de France in doubt.

However, it took only five days to clear the virus.

On Wednesday morning, Pidcock posted a photo on social media that tested negative. He took the opportunity to start riding his bike again and published details of a 56-km ride near his home in Andorra.

The evening before, he had already done a one-hour ride on an indoor trainer.

With nine days until the Grand Depart in Copenhagen, Pidcock could make his first Tour appearance if he is not still suffering from the aftereffects of the virus.

"Game on" was the caption Pidcock chose when uploading his latest ride to Strava.

Pidcock will complete two short rides and return to training, following the team's and UCI's post-COVID protocols; the UCI also recommends a medical exam, including a heart test, before resuming serious training, but Ineos Grenadiers has not yet confirmed to Cycling News when this is scheduled.

Pidcock's ride in Andorra took him on a 56.79 km out-and-back route from his home in the mountains to the Spanish border. It descended from an elevation of 1,800 meters to 900 meters, then turned around and climbed back up, gaining only slightly more than 1,000 meters in elevation.

Pidcock completed the race in just under two hours at an average speed of 30 km/h.

Pidcock was scheduled to compete in the Giro d'Italia this year, but changed his plans and joined the long list of Ineos Grenadiers to compete in his second Grand Tour, the Tour de France, following the Vuelta a España last year.

Ineos Grenadiers' Tour de France lineup is complicated by the fact that Adam Yates, named leader, had to leave the Tour de Suisse a day earlier than Pidcock with COVID-19. It is not certain whether he overcame the virus and started riding again.

In Yates' absence, Geraint Thomas won the Tour de Suisse and took over the leadership with Colombia's Dani Martinez.