One of the few riders who has beaten Tadej Pogacar in 2024 is taken out of the World Championships due to Covid-19
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is the biggest favourite for the upcoming World Championships in Zurich and there are few riders who can realistically match him in the course that will feature 5000 meters of climbing. Jhonatan Narváez was one of them, being one of the few riders who managed to directly beat the Slovenian this year, but he has tested positive for Covid-19.
"After undergoing all the necessary medical examinations, the cyclist has confirmed that he is not in optimal physical condition due to the after-effects of the covid-19," reads the press release from the Ecuadorian Cycling Federation explaining what happened. "He also has discomfort in his shoulder, a consequence of the fall in the first stages of the Vuelta a España. Consequently, the medical team has recommended a period of recovery to ensure a rapid improvement and avoid further complications".
It is far from an ideal situation for the Ecuador team who perhaps lose it's best card. Narváez is a top classics rider who has proven his worth on multiple occasions this year. Last year he crashed out of the race in Glasgow whilst in contention for the first places; and at the Olympic Games there was big drama as the team was only able to select one riders despite being defending champions and the federation chose the INEOS Grenadiers rider instead of Richard Carapaz.
At this moment it is not yet known who will be his replacement. The team will be led by Richard Carapaz who just came off the Vuelta a España with good form; Jefferson Alexander Cepeda, Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda and Jonathan Caicedo next Sunday, September 29 at the start in Winterthur ahead of the battle for the rainbow jersey.
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- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
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Jhonatan Narváez 🇪🇨🐊 no estará ❌en el Mundial 🚴♂️ #Zurich2024 🇨🇭 . COMUNICADO OFICIAL 🗣️ Federación Ecuatoriana de Ciclismo ✍️ . . 📷 Pacer agencia / FEC . . #Ciclismo #Ecuador
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