Corona infection: How much distance is necessary when cycling?

There are the wildest conspiracy theories and fake news about the origin of the coronavirus. The period of ignorance leaves room for lunacy that unsettles people. Recently, a study by a Belgian professor caused a stir among cyclists and runners. Bert Blockenaerodynamics expert from the University of Technology Eindhoven and the Belgian KU Leuven, investigated the path of micro-droplets in the air during running and cycling. He found that the droplets are carried away depending on the speed and concluded that there is a risk of infection with the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 when cycling fast, even ten metres behind a racing cyclist or mountain biker in front. Blocken therefore advises cyclists to keep a safe distance of 20 metres and to avoid riding in the slipstream. He told the Deutschlandfunk in an interview and many other media took over the statements.

Really 20 metres away from the vehicle in front?

Various virologists have now criticised Blocken's statements. According to the experts, the conditions in the fresh air would make transmission more difficult. In addition, it is not clear whether and how often the coronavirus is transmitted via the air, i.e. via tiny droplet nuclei. As things stand, the most common transmission route is still droplet infection. Compared to the TOUR Magazine commented Prof Hartmut Hengel from the Society for Virology (GfV) like this:

"From a virological point of view, it must be pointed out that we currently do not know whether and how often COVID-19 is transmitted via the air - i.e. via tiny droplet nuclei, known as aerosols, which are exhaled by the infected person and inhaled by another. What's more: Outdoors - i.e. when walking, jogging or cycling in the fresh air - conditions prevail that make transmission more difficult: The viral load (coughed up or possibly exhaled) is quickly diluted in the air and there is usually a certain amount of wind, which means that the tiny infectious particles are quickly blown away. In this respect, we consider the risk when jogging, cycling or overtaking by bike to be manageable, provided that the currently recommended social distancing rules - i.e. keeping a distance of at least 1.5 to 2 metres from others and not exercising in groups - are observed."

Conclusion: Cycling in groups should still be avoided or is prohibited anyway due to the nationwide restrictions. However, there is no evidence of a high risk of infection when overtaking or riding in the slipstream (at a distance of 1.5 metres).