Cian Uijtdebroeks ill and losing time at Giro summit finish: "I hope it won't get worse"

Team Visma | Lease a Bike lost Olav Kooij due to illness during the rest day of the Giro d'Italia, and the truth is several other riders have admitted illness over the past few days in the race. Cian Uijtdebroeks admits he is being affected, and is nervous that it could turn worst over the ongoing week.

"It was already a hard day and I was a bit too far, but I felt that I was not completely healthy. To put it that way. I hope I can recover from it and that this was the bad day," Uijtdebroeks told Eurosport at the end of what was a rough day. "Things (diseased, ed.) are going around in the peloton, so I hope it won't get worse."

The Dutch youngster did not have a long day in the saddle to resist, but in the final climb Bahrain - Victorious certainly put their rivals under pressure. Antonio Tiberi looked to put Uijtdebroeks in difficulty and test out the other GC contenders, but the truth is he lost some seconds to the Top4 and won only 9 on Uijtdebroeks.

Uijtdebroeks, now didth in the GC 4:15 minutes behind Tadej Pogacar, talks about his Italian rival who is sure to test the waters again later in the week when the riders tackle more climbs: "He is explosive and can time trial well, but we have to see how he is at altitude in the third week. For now I'm mainly concerned with myself."