Visma | Lease a Bike confirms Jonas Vingegaard was affected by Giro illness

Visma | Lease a Bike team director Jesper Morkov has confirmed suspicions previously raised by riders like Geraint Thomas and Alberto Contador: Jonas Vingegaard was also affected to some extent by the virus that has hit many riders in the Giro peloton. “But everything seems to be fine now,” the Dane reassured.

Vingegaard completed the twelfth stage, won by Alec Segaert, without incident and gave his account to TV2 after the finish. In the finale, his team protected him well at the front. “It was all about safety. We took the lead to stay on the safe side, and my team did a fantastic job.

“They were incredibly strong and performed excellently. So we stayed out of trouble and got through it well,” the Dane explained. “We were at the front, but only to maintain position, and some teams probably only realized that when it was too late. It was good for Bahrein and an excellent stage win for them,” he added, referring to Alec Segaert’s victory.

TV2 also spoke with Morkov, who confirmed that the Giro virus reached Visma | Lease a Bike over the past few days. “Yes, some riders had a bit of coughing and a tickle in the throat, but everything seems to be fine now,” he said. “Jonas was one of them, but all appears well.”

Thomas and Contador had already noted that Vingegaard looked affected around the time trial. Besides the Visma | Lease a Bike leader, several other riders in the peloton were reported sick, including Tobias Lund Andresen, Luca Mozzato, Michael Valgren, and Jensen Plowright, who openly shared their experiences.

On Thursday, two riders abandoned due to illness: Sjoerd Bax of Pinarello-Q36.5, who still managed a strong time trial, and Movistar’s Javier Romo.