A women’s version of the Tour de France will be held in 2022 with a start on Paris’ iconic Champs-Elysees boulevard after the conclusion of the men’s race.

(AP Photo/Christophe Ena)PARIS – In a first, the Tour de France winner wore a face mask on the podium Sunday, bright yellow to match the color of the iconic jersey so snug on his young shoulders. “Really, I was scared we wouldn't get to the end,” race director Christian Prudhomme conceded at the finish. And against the virus that doesn't care how old or young its victims are, how hopeful it seemed that the Tour's winner should come from the same generation asking itself: What is life going to be like for us? In an astounding reversal, he dethroned race leader Primoz Roglic, his countryman who had held the yellow jersey for 11 days. “Even in September, the Tour de France is magic!” Macron tweeted Saturday after Pogacar's demolition of Roglic in the time trial.

Organizers announced that Prudhomme tested positive after taking a COVID-19 test, without providing further details. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)The 166 remaining Tour de France riders have been cleared to continue racing ahead of Tuesdays Stage 10 after undergoing COVID-19 tests, but the race director is going home. Tour organizers said that all the riders tests returned negative but announced that race director Christian Prudhomme tested positive along with four staff members from four different teams who have been dropped from the race bubble. Organizers said 841 tests were performed over the past two days on riders and team members, with most of the riders tested during the first rest day on Monday. To avoid false positive results that could rule healthy riders out of contention, Tour organizers perform a retest and a blood analysis as quickly as possible in case of a positive test.

The Tour de France sets off Saturday Aug. 29, shrouded in uncertainty in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and mounting infections in France. Following guidelines issued by the health authorities, the move was announced Saturday by Tour organizers just a few hours before the start of the three-week race's opening stage in the Riviera city of Nice. From two positive cases in a group of 30, there is a real risk of elimination of a team, Tour director Christian Prudhomme told France Info radio. This week, four staff members of the Belgian team Lotto-Soudal were sent home after non-negative coronavirus tests. The measure is aimed at avoiding false positive tests that could rule out healthy riders.

According to the revised protocol, it will be up to Tour de France organizers to decide whether to throw a whole team out of the race. Speaking with reporters, UCI president David Lappartient said the new protocol is different from the one devised by Tour organizers ASO, but stringent enough. We want the Tour de France to start, but we want the Tour de France to finish. The measure is aimed at avoiding false positive tests that could rule out healthy riders. Tour organizers have set up a mobile coronavirus lab that can produce results in two hours and handle 50 tests a day on race days.

Former Tour de France champions Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas were both left off the INEOS team for this year's race. If you love the Tour, if you love the champions, wear a mask," race director Christian Prudhomme said. As Tour teams arrived in Nice, some were surprised to discover that they were sharing their designated hotel with ordinary guests, raising doubts about how hermetically sealed the race bubble will be. On top of COVID-19 concerns, riders will contend with one of the most unrelenting Tour routes in memory, with an usually high total of 29 tough climbs. ___More Tour de France coverage: https://apnews.com/TourdeFrance