Magnus Cort’s Covid-19 positive heart rate and respiratory rate changes revealed by Whoop

Data of stage ten winner and KOM jersey holder earlier in this year’s Tour shows a meaningful spike in Resting Heart Rate and significant decrease in Heart Rate Variability

Magnus Cort Tour de France
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF Education- EasyPost) was pulled from the Tour de France before stage 15 on July 17 after returning a positive test for Covid. Data from his Whoop band has revealed interesting changes to his biometrics after contracting the virus. 

Fitness and health tracking brand Whoop is now on the fourth iteration of its wearable band that monitors key health metrics, including heart rate, Resting Heart Rate (RHR), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and Respiratory Rate (RR) - these metrics can be used to help riders predict their state of recovery and avoid overtraining, as well as “identifying signs of illness sometimes before you actually feel sick,” according to Whoop. 

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Anna Marie Abram
Fitness Features Editor

I’ve been hooked on bikes ever since the age of 12 and my first lap of the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in the bright yellow kit of the Hillingdon Slipstreamers. For a time, my cycling life centred around racing road and track. 


But that’s since broadened to include multiday two-wheeled, one-sleeping-bag adventures over whatever terrain I happen to meet - with a two-week bikepacking trip from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia being just the latest.


I still enjoy lining up on a start line, though, racing the British Gravel Championships and finding myself on the podium at the enduro-style gravel event, Gritfest in 2022.


Height: 177cm

Weight: 60–63kg