Visma | Lease a Bike are not having the Vuelta a Espana they had hoped for. Sure, Wout Van Aert has won three stages, but the GC leaders Sepp Kuss and Cian Uijtdebroeks were so far behind expections.
The defending champion Kuss is currently 15th overall and even a top-10 will be tough case to crack. Meanwhile his young Belgian teammate had been fighting more with himself than the brutal Spanish climbs as he had already fallen through the GC ranks in the previous stages.
"I ride as hard as I can, but I still have a numb feeling in my legs and everything just blocks. We have often said that it could be due to fatigue or 'this or that', but it can't be that it keeps coming back," Uijtdebroeks wondered about his health condition earlier in the race.
And now it becomes a bit clearer what was behind Uijtdebroeks' underperformance as the 21-year-old abandoned the race just ahead of the queen stage of the second week with finish on Cuitu Negre. The Belgian rider tested positive for COVID and quite logically won't continue in the race onwards.
"Unfortunately, we have to announce that Cian Uijtdebroeks has to withdraw from La Vuelta due to a Covid infection. We wish Cian a speedy recovery. Get well soon, Cian!" the team informed on social media.
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