The corona virus continues to cause dropouts in the Giro d’Italia. With Domenico Pozzovivo, Sven Erik Bystrøm and Callum Scotson, three more riders dropped out of the Italian stage race on Tuesday before the start of the tenth stage.
Pozzovivo was number twenty in the standings at more than 5.5 minutes from leader Geraint Thomas. The 40-year-old Israel-Premier Tech rider has finished in the Giro’s top ten seven times, including last year when he finished eighth.
Nine years younger Norwegian Bystrøm, who races for Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, already tested positive last week. He had no complaints and was given permission by the relevant authorities to continue, but now still has symptoms and is stepping down. Bystrøm was 108th in the standings.
Scotson plays for Team Jayco AlUla. The 26-year-old Australian occupied 69th place in the standings, just behind Bauke Mollema.
The corona virus is increasingly leaving its mark on the 106th edition of the Tour of Italy. On Sunday, rosette jersey wearer and top favorite Remco Evenepoel had to stop the fight for the same reason. He certainly wasn’t the first.
Top vijf Giro-klassement
- Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers)
- Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +0.02
- Tao Geoghegan Hart (INEOS Grenadiers) +0.05
- João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +0.22
- Andreas Leknessund (Team DSM) +0.22
Face masks have returned
After Evenepoel’s positive corona test – Thomas took over the leader’s jersey from him – the Giro organization decided to reintroduce face masks. These are mandatory for the people who come into contact with the riders at the start or finish.
The Giro started without a corona protocol. According to the World Health Organization WHO, there is no longer a health crisis. Riders are therefore not obliged to test.
In case of a positive test, the team decides whether or not to leave the race. Most teams remove the infected riders from the race. Bystrøm was initially an exception.
The Giro peloton covers 196 kilometers on Tuesday between Scandiano and Viareggio. Two climbs await along the way: one of the second and one of the fourth category.
2023-05-16 09:42:20
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