REDON, France - Frank Schleck couldn't tell by the taste if it was a bee or wasp. He was merely happy not to develop an allergic reaction after being stung inside his mouth when he swallowed an insect while riding in the Tour de France.
The Leopard-Trek cyclist from Luxembourg had just started the team time trial in Sunday's second stage when his unwelcome visitor arrived.
He told The Associated Press on Monday that he was initially alarmed before remembering previous similar experiences that helped calm him.
Schleck also cut his nose during the stage after hitting a camera. He struggled to match the pace of his teammates as Leopard-Trek finished four seconds behind stage winner Garmin-Cervelo.
"I'm fortunate not to be allergic," Schleck said before the start of Monday's third stage. "I panicked a bit at first, but it also happened to me in Luxembourg and I had no reaction. The bug stung me in the throat and I swallowed it. It was painful."
Schleck, the older brother of two-time Tour runner-up Andy Schleck, still isn't sure what type of bug it was.
"And I could not tell by the taste," he joked.
Team Leopard-Trek manager Bryan Nygaard said Andy Schleck was in a good condition after Sunday's stage and didn't need to take any medicine to prevent possible swelling.
At the 2001 Tour, Jonathan Vaughters had to withdraw from the race after being stung in the eye by a wasp during a training ride.
The American, who now heads the Garmin-Cervelo team, was allergic and his eye quickly swelled up, forcing him to receive a prescribed injection of cortisone. Knowing that he would test positive, Vaughters had to pull out of the Tour.
"They changed the rule the year after," Vaughters said Monday. "Now you can take cortisone for an allergic reaction."
Asked about the guidelines regarding cortisone and allergies, Tour doctor Florence Pommerie said each case is treated on its merits.
"It depends on the quantity of cortisone a rider has to take and for how long he has to be treated," she said.
