"Five infected riders, but no staff member" - Patrick Lefevere left confused as covid destroys Soudal - Quick-Step at the Giro d'Italia

With covid running rife in the peloton at the 2023 Giro d'Italia no team has been affected more than Soudal - Quick-Step. Losing five riders, including the man their whole team was built around in Remco Evenepoel, team boss Patrick Lefevere has been left helpless.

“When the team doctor Toon Cruyt calls, I know it's not good. I thought there was one case, but he asked me if I was sat down. There are four, he said," Lefevere recalls in an interview with Sporza. "It is very curious: we count five infected riders, but no staff member. And for those who were in doubt: the tests were done in a laboratory in Modena and a PCR test does not lie.”

It's true that some have doubted the truth of Remco Evenepoel testing positive but surely the vast number of cases now ravaging not only Soudal - Quick-Step but the peloton in general has now removed the doubt from anyone's mind. Only the trio of Pieter Serry , Ilan Van Wilder and Davide Ballerini remain for Lefevere's team in Italy.

“Whether there is a chance that we will not make it to Rome? You can, but it would be very unfair to let the remaining riders down,” said Lefevere . “The easiest would be: bus in and out. But we don't. We also need caretakers for the hotel, on the way and at the finish. So not many go home.”

The aforementioned Toon Cruyt, team doctor at Soudal - Quick-Step has also spoken of his disappointment at what has happened to the team. “I had taken into account that one or two riders would be positive, but four is a bit too much. Last year it was the other way around in the Tour, because now none of the staff is positive. Three of the four riders had symptoms, one rider was already slightly better," he says. “I am glad that Patrick gave me the opportunity to do what I wanted medically. I have not been obliged to keep riders on course. I've been with this team for 25 years and Patrick never interferes in our decisions. He never pressures us for decisions we don't want to make."