Pello Bilbao abandons 2024 Tour de France on stage 12 as Matej Mohoric denies rumours of Covid running rampant within Bahrain - Victorious

Something within the Bahrain - Victorious team at the 2024 Tour de France isn't quite right at the moment. Pello Bilbao has become the latest rider to abandon the Grand Tour, just a day after his teammate, Fred Wright was forced to leave the race by missing the time cut.

Bilbao had been visibly struggling all throughout the early portion of stage 12, yo-yoing out the back of the peloton way earlier than a rider of his calibre would expect. With around 115km to go, the decision was finally made for the Basque rider as he stepped off his bike and into the Bahrain - Victorious team car.

As mentioned, the day before, Bilbao's teammate Fred Wright was in a big struggle. "This was the worst day of my life," former British national champion Wright told ITV after the finish, having battled bravely on stage 11 to eventually cross the line over an hour down on Jonas Vingegaard. "I really suffered and that’s not nice. I don’t know what’s wrong. Yesterday was an easy day, but I couldn’t help the team in the final. I started the day fresh and positive, but I had a moment and felt terrible. I really had no power. I was alone very quickly and I can do time trials... I don’t regret anything, this was all I had in me. You wouldn’t wish this on anyone."

What could have caused such abject performances by some of the world's most capable riders however? After all, at the 2023 Wright, Bilbao and the rest of the Bahrain - Victorious team were protagonists and took multiple stage wins over the course of the Tour de France twelve months ago. Well according to some rumours on the grapevine, Covid is running rampant within the peloton and Bahrain are among those affected.

Matej Mohoric however, denied such talk in his pre-stage 12 interview. “We tested and there are no positive Covid tests,” the Slovenian said in conversation with Sporza before the start of stage 12. “But some riders are indeed not feeling great. We have to wait and see if it goes away. I didn’t feel good after stage six, but now it’s better."