Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have reported a “wave of diseases” within the Vuelta a España has brought about two of their riders to desert and a 3rd to complete exterior the time restrict, though race chief Primoz Roglič has mentioned he was not affected and was in a position to efficiently defend his title on Saturday’s remaining mountain stage of the race.
Roglič’s teammates Patrick Gamper and Dani Martínez – the latter instrumental in setting Roglic up for his solo journey to victory and regaining the pink jersey on stage 19 at Moncalvillo – each needed to abandon on stage 20.
A 3rd Red Bull member of their Vuelta lineup, Nico Denz, accomplished the ultra-mountainous course however completed exterior the time restrict and a fourth, Aleksandr Vlasov, felt unwell however completed half an hour down.
“A wave of sickness has swept over us in a single day,” lead sports activities director Pati Vila mentioned in an announcement revealed on the staff’s web site.
“We are presently investigating whether or not meals poisoning is the trigger. Several employees members have been affected and have needed to pull out of right now’s stage. Also, Nico, Gampi, Dani and Aleks had been unwell in the course of the stage. We will collect now and can concentrate on tomorrow’s remaining stage.”
Roglič himself appeared unaffected by the sickness, finishing the stage in third place and even barely growing his general benefit over second-placed Ben O’Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) to only over two minutes. Red Bull racers Roger Adria, Florian Lipowitz and Giovanni Aleotti additionally appeared unaffected and rode strongly to assist their chief on the final massive day within the mountains.
“The guys weren’t feeling their finest from the morning on, there’s one thing going round,” Roglič confirmed. “Luckily for me, I’m nonetheless feeling fantastic and now I simply have to complete it off.”
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