Vincenzo Nibali misses upcoming Ruta del Sol after testing positive for Covid-19
Astana-Qazaqstan shared on Twitter the Italian is currently "asymptomatic"
Vincenzo Nibali will miss the upcoming Ruta del Sol as he becomes the latest rider in the peloton to catch the omicron variant of Covid-19.
Astana-Qazaqstan announced on Twitter that Nibali had contracted an "asymptomatic" case, and therefore won't be racing the five-stage race starting on Wednesday in the Andalucía region of Spain.
"Unfortunately, Vincenzo Nibali will be forced to change his racing program and to miss Vuelta a Andalucía due to an asymptomatic COVID-19," an Astana statement read. "The team will communicate about his new racing program later."
🇪🇸 MEDICAL: @VCANDALUCIA Unfortunately, @vincenzonibali will be forced to change his racing program and to miss Vuelta a Andalucía due to an asymptomatic COVID-19. The team will communicate about his new racing program later.#AstanaQazaqstanTeamFebruary 14, 2022
UCI medical protocol will require Nibali to undergo a series of heart and lung check-ups before he can race again, making it unclear whether the four-time Grand Tour winner will compete in Omloop Het Nieuwblad at the end of February.
The 37-year-old entered his 18th professional season in the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana at the beginning of the month, finishing 16th in the general classification as Aleksandr Vlasov took the win.
In order to focus on racing the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, Nibali scrapped his plans to ride all five Monuments. However, it is still likely he will compete at Milan-San Remo, which he won in 2018, and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Nibali's positive Covid-19 test isn't anything new in the peloton though, with a number of riders forced to miss races and alter plans due to infections. João Rodrigues is unable to defend his Volta ao Algarve title this weekend, while Alejandro Valverde decided not to start his home race at the Vuelta a Murcia.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Meanwhile, a positive test forced Richard Carapaz to pull out of the Tour de la Provence last week ahead of the second stage, with Tadej Pogačar also testing positive last week - though he wasn't racing, and is still confirmed to race the UAE Tour this month.
Teams are stringently sticking to rules in order to limit infections, adhering to the UCI's pre-race screenings and imposing measures of their own too. Jumbo-Visma epitomised this last month, closing down their pre-season training camp in Spain after an outbreak of cases.
The Belgian outfit, along with BikeExchange-Jayco, also withdrew from the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana after some riders returned positive results.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Ryan is a staff writer for Cycling Weekly, having joined the team in September 2021. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before making his way to cycling. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer.
-
'Our costs are going up but customers can’t pay more': Community bike shops are making cycling affordable, but can they afford to keep the doors open?
Not-for-profit setups designed to make cycling accessible are feeling the pinch - but the communities they're designed to serve can keep them alive
By Isobel Duxfield Published
-
Small Cost, BIG Features | Is This Indoor Training Platform Worth The Switch?
icTrainer costs 9x less than the market leader but this indoor training platform is still jam packed with features
By Sponsored Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali explains decision to retire
The Italian rider announced his retirement in his hometown of Messina at the end of stage five of the Giro d'Italia
By Ryan Dabbs Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali will not ride Paris-Roubaix in order to focus on the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France
Italian says it would have been "really cool" to ride all five monuments but it wasn't "possible"
By Adam Becket Published
-
Astana release new rap video starring Vincenzo Nibali and Alexander Vinokourov
Kazakh team have history of strange social media posts, but this one is quite something
By Adam Becket Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali to tackle Paris-Roubaix for first time in 2022
Italian is down to race all five monuments in 2022 for Astana-Qazaqstan
By Adam Becket Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali returns to Astana for the 2022 season
The 'Shark of Messina' returns to the Kazakhstani team after five seasons away
By Tim Bonville-Ginn Last updated
-
Vincenzo Nibali abandons Tour de France 2021
The Italian star is the latest to leave the race ahead of the Olympics
By Alex Ballinger Published
-
Italian cycling fans could crowdfund new WorldTour team, according to think tank
Italian star Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) says that cycling is suffering at home amid pushes for a crowdfunded WorldTour tour team to put the country back in the top ranks.
By Gregor Brown Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali and Alex Dowsett to appear at Cycle Show
Star riders will make an appearance at this year's Cycle Show in Birmingham, taking place over September 22-24
By Nigel Wynn Published