Bronchitis forces Arnaud De Lie out of Renewi Tour as Giulio Ciccone also withdraws ill

It was hot in Monaco on Saturday — very hot during the opening time trial of the Vuelta a España. Elsewhere in Europe, however, conditions were anything but pleasant for racing. Heavy rain hit both the Deutschland Tour stage 3 and the Renewi Tour, and now two of the biggest names in those races have been forced to pull out: both Arnaud De Lie and Giulio Ciccone have fallen ill.

De Lie’s withdrawal is another major setback for Lotto-Intermarché. Jenno Berckmoes lost the leader’s jersey on Saturday, despite some excellent work from his Belgian teammate. De Lie himself had still been fourth overall before the fourth stage, but he had already sacrificed his own position, dropping back and tumbling out of contention while working for Berckmoes. Now, ahead of Sunday’s final stage, the defending champion will not take the start at all.

“Unfortunately, Arnaud De Lie will not start the final stage of the Renewi Tour,” Lotto-Intermarché announced on X. The team said De Lie had already been experiencing upper-respiratory symptoms on Saturday before his condition deteriorated overnight and he developed bronchitis. He will now be given the rest he needs over the coming days, with Lotto-Intermarché keen not to jeopardise his upcoming races.

The respiratory problems are yet another blow in what has been a difficult season for the Bull of Lescheret. De Lie has won two races so far in 2026, but illness also forced him to abandon both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France at an early stage. At the Renewi Tour, the Belgian appeared to be finding his form again and looked ready to make a serious attempt at defending the overall title he won in 2025. Illness has now brought that challenge to a premature end as well.

It is a similar story for Giulio Ciccone in Germany. The Lidl-Trek Italian started the Deutschland Tour as one of the leading favourites and had put himself in an excellent position after the first four days of racing. He sat third overall heading into Saturday’s the queen stage, but then endured a miserable day: Ciccone finished 53rd, lost 13 minutes and with it virtually any hope of securing a strong final general-classification result.

Ciccone has also been suffering from illness, Lidl-Trek confirmed on X. “Giulio was already feeling unwell before the start of stage 3 on Saturday, and it worsened during and after the race,” the team explained. Lidl-Trek said the Italian was showing symptoms consistent with a viral infection and therefore decided not to take any unnecessary risks, allowing him to rest and recover fully instead. Ciccone would normally be expected to return for the Canadian one-day races before continuing his campaign towards the World Championships in Montréal.