Long-Covid devastating Ben Hermans' season: "I can't even think about competition"

Israel - Premier Tech are undergoing a very difficult season, with the risk of relegation very real - with the possibility of not having automatic wildcards to World Tour events. Part of that comes from injuries and ilnesses, and one of the team's leaders Ben Hermans has been badly affected by it.

After a decent start of the season in the Mallorca classics and Volta a Valencia, Hermans was - like much of the peloton - infected with Covid-19, possibly due to the outbreak that took many teams out of the race. Despite having recovered from it, the symptoms have three months later persisted: "It's not that I'm still acutely ill, but I have had persistent fatigue for months since my corona infection."

Hermans raced the opening stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, but didn't finish the second day, and is yet to return to the peloton. He was planned to ride the Tour de Hongrie, but that has too been ruled out of his schedule. “I'm still on the start list [at the time] because the original plan was to race again in Hungary. But I can't get rid of the fatigue I got after that infection," he added.

The Israeli team are in need of points, and the Belgian's absence deals another blow to the goal. Hermans was the winner of five races last year, including the overall classification at the Tour of Norway. “I can only do recovery training. Nothing of intensity. Until now I can't even think about competition. All I can do is hope that the tide will turn sooner or later," he concluded. The team's hopes are that he is able to recover in time for the second half of the season, with the Vuelta a España and the Italian Autumn classics as a possible goal.