LONDON (AP) – Argentine cyclist Maximiliano Richeze was released from a hospital in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, where he spent 18 days after testing positive for the new coronavirus.
Richeze, a Team Emirates rider, wrote on Instagram that two tests by COVID-19 were negative and he was discharged.
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“Thank you to the doctors and nurses at Abu Dhabi Hospital for healing me, thank you to my team for your support, and especially to everyone for the messages and the affection,” Richeze said on Instagram.
The 37-year-old runner also asked his followers in Argentina to “respect prevention measures.”
The current condition of Colombian Fernando Gaviria, Richeze’s teammate, was not immediately known. Gaviria also tested positive for the virus, the outbreak of which forced the cancellation of the Emirates Tour.
Two other Team Emirates employees tested positive, and the entire team remains in voluntary quarantine.
Earlier in the week, Gaviria’s sister told Colombian media that the cyclist remained in an Abu Dhabi hospital. Juliana Gaviria pointed out that her brother has not come out negative in the tests and therefore cannot leave the clinic.
The second edition of the Emirates Tour, one of the main races at the start of the season, was canceled with two stages still to go. The cyclists and support personnel of the 22 teams were quarantined, although almost all of them have received the go-ahead to leave the country.
