Cow dung-related illnesses from Famenne Ardenne Classic cause Arnaud De Lie to miss the Giro d'Italia team presentation
Cycling
Who would've thought that Lotto Famenne Ardenne Classic (1.1) taking place last weekend would play a role at the upcoming Giro d'Italia. With just two days before the start, the news of an epidemic within Lotto-Intermarché sparked fear in Bulgaria. According to reports, three riders including the team's leader Arnaud De Lie were affected with Liam Slock forced to withdraw from nomination.
At Lotto-Intermarché, they were still in a celebratory mood on Sunday after Arnaud De Lie's first victory of the season, but by now they will regard the Famenne Ardennes Classic as a shit race.
Arnaud De Lie fell ill few days later. Het Nieuwsblad reports that Milan Menten and Liam Slock also suffered from stomach flu symptoms after the Walloon race. De Lie and Menten are recovering, hopefully just in time for Giro d'Italia despite their absence at team presentation, but for Slock, the Giro ended before it even begun.
Joshua Giddings is his last-minute replacement. Other teams are also reporting many sick riders following last Sunday's race.
Read also
Shitty experience
A large number of teams involved report that the roads in the Ardennes last Sunday were contaminated in many places with cow dung and tracks from agricultural vehicles. Combined with water splashing up due to rain, many riders reportedly developed symptoms of gastroenteritis afterwards.
Inquiries by WielerFlits reveal that Abram Stockman and Joren Bloem of Unibet Rose Rockets also reported sick following the Famenne Ardennes Classic. The Dutch continental teams METEC-SOLARWATT and BEAT CC p/b Saxo were hit heavily with no less than four absentes, making at a challenge to gather enough riders for their respective upcoming races.
Other teams heading to Giro this week; Alpecin - Premier Tech and Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling currently report no health problems for their riders at Famenne Ardenne Classic. This includes Pinarello Q36.5's duo Matteo Moschetti and Fabio Christen who should be normally at the start line in Nessebar this Friday.
Read also

Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Great win.However will the world champions jersey be simply a domestic for the season which will some what tarnish the jersey. I hope he is given free rein to try and win some races.paultryan200206-11-2026
- Gretsky wow how old are you lol. Classy sportman though.🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hope it is a good as the one they made on Mark Cavendish.paultryan200206-11-2026
- Literally the perfect RedBull athlete.anonymouscyclist06-11-2026
- And well understood in the CX community.anonymouscyclist06-11-2026
- "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." OK, that's great!!! I've been saying all along: Tadej Pogačar-Pogi is the G.O.A.T... period. Not only in cycling... but he's the greatest sportsman that ever lived !!! But let's take a look of what real foolishness is. We have many many fools, also on this site, saying that Pogi is "boring,"... he's making cycling "boring"??? I can't believe what's comming out of their deteriorating bad breath mouths. So I guess Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Fasto Coppi and Anquetil were also boring at their time!?!? I guess Michael Jordan, Le Bron, Gretzky, Messi, Ronaldo, Shumacher, Novak Džoković, Federer, Rossi, Marquez, Phelps, Michaela Shiffrin, Venus Williams, Bolt, Lewis Hamilton... etc. were all boring. PS: Many cycling fans that think that way, have to get a brain scan. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans06-11-2026
- ridiculous. a normal racing incident. how lame do you have to be to complain about that?Ketterechts06-11-2026
- Rubbing is racing.
santiagobenites06-11-2026 - Throws an elbow, but crashes afterwards and he's upset.
Front24206-11-2026 - There should be nothing but praise for them: 1. Trying to make things safer, and 2. Trying something "new".acem8206-11-2026
- And a bit of a malcontent on top of it all that doesn’t help.mij06-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment










