BARCELONA, 15 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Belgian cyclist Cian Uijtdebroeks (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) abandoned the Giro d’Italia this Wednesday before the eleventh stage due to an illness that had been hindering him in the last stages of the ‘Corsa rosa’.
“The Giro will have to continue without the greatest smile of the peloton. We regret to announce that Cian Uijtdebroeks is forced to abandon the race,” his team confirmed this Wednesday.
Cian Uijtdebroeks “was not feeling well” in recent days and after the tenth stage ending in Bocca della Selva “fell ill”. “We wish him a speedy recovery,” said Visma, which loses its highest-ranked cyclist.
The Belgian was fifth in the general classification, 4:15 minutes behind the leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and also wore the ‘maglia bianca’ of best young man of the Giro, with 12 seconds ahead of the Italian Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious ), which will carry it from now on.
The sports director of the Dutch team Marc Reef said that it is a “big setback” for the team to lose the Belgian. “But we still have four riders who are fit and healthy and ready to fight for it,” he said.