Remco Evenepoel withdrawal from Giro d’Italia 2023 due to Covid 'a huge blow' – Dan Lloyd

Remco Evenepoel’s withdrawal from the Giro d’Italia may be a “huge blow” for the rider and the race but given the unknowns around Covid it was a smart move, says Eurosport expert Dan Lloyd. Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) tested positive for Covid on Sunday, just hours after taking the maglia rosa after winning the Stage 9 individual time trial.

Ad Although there is no mandatory testing at the Giro, and no requirement for riders to leave the race after a positive test, Soudal-QuickStep decided to pull Evenepoel from the race. Giro d'ItaliaBystrom abandons Giro with Covid, day after team announced he would ride on2 HOURS AGO “It’s a huge blow to the race and a huge blow to Remco Evenepoel and his team,” said Lloyd on The Breakaway ahead of Stage 10.

“What you’ve got to remember is he’s still really young, he spent seven months preparing for this race, last October/November he was already scouting out stages for the Giro before the winter snow came. “It’s an incredible amount of work and money they’ve put into this.

Remco is their star rider and their big asset. He’s under contract for quite a few years.

“They still don’t really know the science, if you continue racing really hard with Covid whether you’re going to lose 1-2% later in your career. “It’s just not worth the risk and they would not have withdrawn him unless it was strictly necessary and they felt it was the right thing to do.” Exclusive: Evenepoel 'must be broken' at withdrawal as 'new Giro begins' — Contador ‘Is he winding me up?’ — Thomas thought Evenepoel's positive Covid result was a ‘joke’ Evenepoel arrived at the Giro as the narrow favourite ahead of Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) and was set to start Stage 10 with a 45-second lead in the general