Sickness sweeps through the Rhône-Alpes peloton: Mohoric withdraws and Movistar lose two riders

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is, for many riders and teams, the ideal way to prepare for the Tour de France — important race kilometres before the big moment. But it can also backfire. Crashes are one risk, but illness is another. A flu wave appears to be taking a significant toll before the start of stage 5.

Movistar have had the worst luck of any team so far. The Spanish squad had already lost Diego Pescador before the race even started, and were forced to begin the team time trial a man short — yet they delivered a fine seventh place regardless, largely thanks to the powerful engine of Iván Romero.

Now it is the young Spaniard himself who has had to leave the race, the team confirmed on X. And he is not alone: Jefferson Alveiro Cepeda has also been forced to withdraw. A flu virus is moving through the squad, leaving both riders unable to continue. Team leader Cian Uijtdebroeks now has just three teammates remaining: only Pablo Castrillo, Raúl García Pierna and Michel Hessmann are still able to support him.

Bahrain Victorious have also lost an important rider. Matej Mohoric is the latest casualty, the team confirmed on X. The Slovenian had been one of Bahrain's main hopes for stage victories in the race, but the squad had yet to find success. Now the 31-year-old classics specialist has also fallen ill and cannot continue — a significant blow to the team, where Mohoric's experience has made him indispensable.

The illness wave is not entirely surprising. The peloton had already battled sickness at the Giro d'Italia, where Jonas Vingegaard, Giulio Pellizzari, Jai Hindley and Ben O'Connor all fell ill during the race, though all managed to finish. Lotto-Intermarché had half their roster struck down early in the race — though the team attributed that outbreak to cow pats on the road at the Famenne Ardenne Classic.

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]