«It is with a heavy heart that I announce that I must leave the Giro after testing positive for Covid-19 in a routine test.", writes Remco Evenepoel in a statement on social media. "My experience here has been very special and I was looking forward to continuing the battle over the next two weeksI can't thank the staff enough. Also my teammates, who have sacrificed so much in preparation for this GiroI'm still very proud because I can leave the Giro with two stage victories and four pink jerseys».
Unmistakable signals
Something could actually be suspected. "My nose is blocked," he said in the press conference after the time trial. I have to be careful not to get sick or catch a virus I don't want to name, because it would only bring bad luck."
Then as an explanation for the time trial was below expectations he indicated that he had He chose the wrong pace, started too fast and at the first intermediate time he had a 31 second advantage over Roglic, then it went down. Then he talked about the after-effects of the falls in the Salerno stage, since dirty fluid continued to leak from the wounds. But that wasn't the case, and after the test, everything became clearer.
Like Ganna and Aleotti
The Belgian's decline had been too sharp not to think that there was a problem, but the desire to see some crack in his supposed invulnerability had made him think of something elseHow could one explain that his time trial performance had suddenly become so… normal? It was Covid, nothing more than the damned virus that… in the last few days it had caused the withdrawal of Ganna and Aleotti, Conci and Uran.
In recent days, Remco had partially lowered his guard, using a mask less and less, and perhaps his casualness may have cost him dearly. Routine tests took place last night on the team bus. Evenepoel tested positive, the rest of the Soudal-Quick-Step it's fine for now.
The Father's Eye
On Saturday his wife, who had already been seen in Pescara, arrived from Belgium, his father and mother, to follow him in the second time trial of the Giro. And perhaps not having seen him for a few days, they were the first to the difficulty of Fossombrone and the time trial won by just one second seemed even stranger.
“We only found out about the test after the team’s statement and a message from Remco himself,” his father Patrick told Het Nieuwsblad. The positive swab was a surprise, but also the confirmation of what we had seenWe noticed on Saturday during the Fossombrone stage that something was wrong. Initially we thought the crisis could be due to Thursday's crash, but From small details of his pedaling and from his words you could understand that something was wrong.
«It was clear right in the time trial – he continues – if he hadn't had Covid he would have earned much more. He had prepared it methodically. The result was unusual. As soon as I arrived, I went to him. He immediately said, "Dad, I'm not well."».
Health first
Waiting for a doctor to explain this better why only in cycling do cases that lead to retirement occur?, while elsewhere it seems that Covid has disappeared or has no consequences, his father continued the conversation, perhaps taking it to the extreme, but making it clear that one can never be too careful.
«Let's assume they hadn't done the checks – he told Het Nieuwsblad – and that Remco had still been racing for a few days. Are we sure we wouldn't have risked finding ourselves in a situation similar to Colbrelli's? (The comparison may clearly be a stretch, but in fact there is no certainty or medical literature that explains the effects of Covid on athletes' hearts, ed.) It's absolutely not worth the risk. ICovid is very dangerous for a high-level athlete. Suppose the virus affects your heart muscle. For this reason, every team doctor immediately and rightly removes their rider from the race if the test is positive. All the riders have wives or even children. But in the end, this is a race and health comes firstRemco had been working for the Giro since October. But if at a certain point his health is in danger, the decision is quick. The doctor will have made the decision for protect Remco's health and that of his teammates».
On the day of rest, there will be no talk of anything else. Tomorrow Geraint Thomas will leave for Viareggio wearing the pink jersey, in a Giro that is changing face and shape. It's the week that introduces the big mountains, but Evenepoel will not be there. Who knows, at this point, if the Covid crisis is as short as we hope, the doors of the Tour do not open for him.
