As the countdown continues to the start of the Tour de France, further instances of COVID-19 have been revealed in the Tour de Suisse and Tour of Slovenia.

UAE Team Emirates (open in new tab) first withdrew two riders from each race, then withdrew its entire team from that event after a positive test for COVID-19 within the Tour de Suisse team; EF Education - Easy Post (open in new tab), Tour de Suisse (open in new tab) announced that Stefan Bissegger, Rigoberto Uran, Hugh Kersee, and Alberto Betiol tested positive.

Shortly after the announcement by UAE Team Emirates and EF, Bora Hansgrohe also announced that race leaders Alexandre Vlasov and Anton Palzer would not continue in the Tour de Suisse because they tested positive for COVID-19 in routine tests.

Bahrain-Victorius and Alpecin-Phoenix also abandoned the Tour de Suisse before the start of stage 6.

Bahrain Victorious revealed that he tested positive on Friday morning, and two riders who had abandoned the race before stage 5 due to gastrointestinal problems also subsequently tested positive for COVID-19. According to Alpecin Phoenix, two team members tested positive for COVID-19 and all of them abandoned the race.

"The decision to withdraw from the race is the wisest decision for the team management and medical staff. This decision was made in consultation with the management of the Tour de Suisse," said Alpecin Phoenix.

According to Israel Premier Tech, Sebastian Barwick has also withdrawn from the Tour de Suisse after testing positive for COVID-19, and his roommate Reto Hollenstein has also withdrawn after being deemed in close contact.

Tom Pidcock was another high-profile case, following in the footsteps of Ineos Grenadiers teammate Adam Yates, who retired on Thursday. Luis Verweke (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl) was another confirmed COVID, while Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo), Alex Aramburu (Movistar), and Simone Pettilli (Intermarque-Wanti-Gobert) were among those who did not race on Friday. The total number of participants who did not run on Friday was 30.

On Thursday, Yates as well as the Jumbo-Visma team withdrew from the Tour de Suisse after four members tested positive. The same was true for Team DSM's Søren Cragg Andersen, Casper Pedersen, and Cees Boll.

Human Powered Health also announced that U.S. national champion Joey Rothkopf had tested positive and withdrawn from the race.

With little regulation of COVID-19 in European countries and waning protection against infection, the number of cases has been increasing across Europe, despite a decline in the past two years thanks to warmer summer weather.

Concerns are now mounting for the Tour de France, which starts in Copenhagen on Friday, July 1. Bissegger, Uran, and Bettiol were all scheduled to compete in the Tour de France.

Team manager Jonathan Vaughters revealed that four EF Education-Easy Post riders who tested positive in the Tour de Suisse were sent home early Friday morning.

Since no staff members tested positive, the US-registered WorldTour team gave Nielson Powles and Jonas Lucci the option to remain for the final three stages. The team will continue testing for COVID-19 twice daily.

UAE Team Emirates had two cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours. Marc Hirschi tested positive at the Tour de Suisse and Mikkel Bjerg tested positive at the Tour of Slovenia, which was run in support of team leader Tadej Pogachal. Initially, Hirschi and Bjerg were withdrawn from competition.

Teammates and staff in both races tested negative, but Joel Suter (Hirschi's roommate) and Vegard Stake Rengen (Bjerg's roommate) were removed from the race as a precautionary measure. However, Diego Ulissi of the Tour de Suisse also tested positive for COVID-19, and the entire team withdrew from that event. In a statement, UAE Team Emirates said, "For team safety reasons and in the interest of the wider cycling community, the team has decided to withdraw from the race."