Simon Yates withdraws from Vuelta a España after Covid positive

Britain’s Simon Yates has withdrawn from the Vuelta a España after testing positive for Covid-19.

Yates’s Team BikeExchange-Jayco said that he suffered mild symptoms overnight and returned a positive test on Wednesday morning. “In accordance with strict team policy, Yates will not continue in La Vuelta,” his team said, before stage 11.

Yates, who won the race in 2018, held seventh position overall after Tuesday’s individual time-trial stage from Elche to Alicante.

It is another setback for the 30-year-old, who was forced out of the Giro d’Italia in May by a knee injury.

Five riders, meanwhile, withdrew from La Vuelta on Tuesday because of Covid, including Yates’s fellow Briton Ethan Hayter.