Israel - Premier Tech will not race the Tour des Flandres as two Covid-19 cases have been identified from within the team bubble. Sep Vanmarcke will therefore miss another edition of the race, in what has been a bad spring so far for the team.
Team General manager Kjell Carlström was the team's spokesperson when it came to delivering another disappointing set of news for the Israeli team: “This is a very regrettable situation and we are extremely disappointed to have to withdraw from Ronde van Vlaanderen. This decision has not been taken lightly but we feel this is our only option at this stage. It is no secret we have had covid and other illness and also crash-induced injuries wiping out the majority of our riders at one stage or another in recent weeks.
He added: "Right now, we have very few healthy riders who could take to the start line, but they are now close contacts, and it is out of respect for the race and the rest of the peloton, that we are making this decision. It is our duty of care to the other teams to not be willingly sending riders who have been exposed to covid into a race."
After Tom Van Asbroeck's diagnosis, it comes as yet more bad news for Israel. Sep Vanmarcke has had his preparation hampered by illness, whilst Jakob Fuglsang has struggled with form since contracting Covid-19 in February. The team nevertheless was ready to enter De Ronde as outsiders, but will have to wait for Paris-Roubaix to make a final impact on the cobbles.
“By withdrawing from the race, we are allowing our cobbled classics riders to recover and hit the reset button. No one is more disappointed than us but hopefully, this decision will allow us to save the remainder of the spring season and get back on track," Carlström concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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News: Israel – Premier Tech to miss Ronde van Vlaanderen Israel – Premier Tech team management have made the difficult decision to withdraw the team from Ronde van Vlaanderen this Sunday for medical reasons. More 👉 bit.ly/3IRdeZq
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