Remco Evenepoel out of Giro d'Italia following positive Covid test
Belgian was in lead following Sunday's stage nine time trial; Geraint Thomas now in virtual race lead
Remco Evenepoel has left the Giro d'Italia following a positive Covid test on Sunday evening. The Soudal Quick-Step rider was in the pink jersey after Sunday's stage nine time trial, but will now be replaced by Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers), who is now in the virtual race lead.
The world champion regained the maglia rosa after winning the the race against the clock in Cesena on Sunday by one second over Thomas, but that is immaterial now, after he tested positive for Covid later that evening.
Evenepoel will travel home on Monday, Soudal Quick-Step announced via a statement, in a blow for both his team and the race. The Belgian was one of the two outstanding favourites for the race alongside Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), and won both time trial stages of the Giro in the first week, spending four days in pink.
He tested positive for the virus in a test which was taken by the team, not mandated by the race organisers.
In a Quick-Step statement, Evenepoel said: “I am really sorry to be leaving the race. As part of the team’s protocol, I took a routine test, which unfortunately was positive.
"My experience here has been really special and I was looking forward to competing over the next two weeks. I can’t thank enough the staff and the riders who sacrificed so much in preparation for the Giro. I will be cheering them on over the next two weeks."
According to the Belgian team, all other staff and riders tested negative for Covid. He was not the first rider to leave the race due to the virus, with Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) the most high-profile of other riders to head home because of it.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Just hours before the statement, Evenepoel won stage nine of the Giro, and said: "We have a lot of confidence. I think tomorrow I really need to recover well, because I think the last two days weren’t my best days.
“I think we should try to recover well and just enjoy today’s victory."
Despite two stage wins and a spell in the pink jersey, it had not all gone to plan for Evenepoel, with the 23-year-old crashing twice on stage five, and losing time on Saturday's punchy stage eight. How well the precocious Belgian would have performed in the next 12 stages is now useless to consider, as he heads home.
In his place, the Ineos Grenadiers duo of Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart will likely battle with Roglič and João Almeida, among others, for the race. Heading into the second week, the Giro has almost been reset.
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
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.
-
Tweets of the week: Brutal weather at Flèche, an idiot sandwich and is there a new POC helmet?
There's a lot of love for Kasia Niewiadoma, and it turns out Norwegians are good in bad weather
By Adam Becket Published
-
Juanpe López wins Tour of the Alps, does 34 kick-ups with a football
'My coach said to do it for Betis,' says Spaniard of his boyhood football club
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Wout van Aert to miss Giro d'Italia due to injuries suffered at Dwars door Vlaanderen
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was set to ride the Italian Grand Tour for the first time
By Adam Becket Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel caught up in huge crash at Itzulia Basque Country
Race neutralised as horror crash sees three of the favourites caught up in incident
By Adam Becket Published
-
'I pulled it off and turned everything around' - Brandon McNulty on the ride that changed him
US star grabbed his first ever Grand Tour win at last year’s Giro d’Italia
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'We were lucky with the weather': Brandon McNulty admits rain helped UAE Emirates edge Paris-Nice stage three team time trial
American pulled on the yellow jersey after a rain soaked finale to stage three in Auxerre
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Ineos Grenadiers delighted with Egan Bernal’s late cameo on stage one of Paris-Nice
Colombian snapped up key bonus seconds in the general classification battle on run in to Les Mureaux
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert impress in Portugal ahead of bigger tests
Evenepoel starts season in fine form ahead of Tour de France debut this summer
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Geraint Thomas to race Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in 2024
Welshman will return to the Giro in May before heading to the French Grand Tour as part of the Ineos Grenadiers squad
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Analysis: In the age of the all-rounder, Jonas Vingegaard’s programme stands out as different but is it really that unusual?
Unlike Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogačar and other high profile Grand Tour riders, it’s unlikely that Vingegaard will target any major one-day races this year
By Tom Thewlis Published