Giulio Ciccone's hopes of returning to his home Grand Tour have sadly come to an end with the Italian unable to return quickly enough from a recent surgery.
Ciccone is now back in training after having surgery to remove a perineal cyst earlier this year with doctors giving the Lidl-Trek star the all-clear to get back on his bike. "The resumption of training coincided with the first briefing between the rider and the Team to define the next steps," says an announcement of the official website of the Lidl-Trek team.
One race he certainly won't be taking part in however, is the Giro d'Italia with the opening Grand Tour of the season coming too soon for the winner of the King of the Mountains at the 2023 Tour de France. "Although much will depend on the feedback that will come in the coming weeks, by mutual agreement and with great disappointment, it has been decided that Cicco will not race the Giro d’Italia," Lidl-Trek announces.
"Unfortunately, reaching the ideal form in the time required to pursue the goal of the GC or, at the very least, to race the Giro as a main protagonist, does not align with the delicacy of his recovery," the statement continues. "For the moment, the decision to skip the Giro d’Italia is the only one that has been taken. If his preparation continues without problems, there is a good chance of seeing Cicco racing for the first time in May. The decision on his eventual 2024 season debut will be taken in April, together with the announcement of a new racing calendar."
More than one month after the surgery, @giuliocicco1 is back in training 💪 His new racing calendar will be announced in April, but a first decision (with big disappointment) has been taken: no @giroditalia 😞 📰 Read the news 👇 racing.trekbikes.com/stories/lidl-t…
