Soudal-Quick-Step is only left with two after giving up Davide Ballerini: “He hasn’t been feeling well for a few days”

There seems to be a curse on Soudal-Quick-Step in this Giro. After Remco Evenepoel, Mattia Cattaneo, Josef Cerny and Jan Hirt had to say goodbye to the Tour of Italy due to a corona infection, the sick Davide Ballerini now also has to make a cross through his Giro.

The Italian was close to a stage victory a few days ago, but will no longer be at the start today. For example, The Wolfpack only enters the final week with Pieter Serry and Ilan Van Wilder. “Ballerini had not been feeling well for a few days”, sports director Klaas Lodewijck explained in Sabbio Chiese just before the start. “During the rest day he had a fever. We waited until this morning to see if he would feel better. But it was useless to let him start today. It’s never fun to leave. But I think he felt for a few days that he was on the limit, despite being part of the breakaways. It is a pity for him, but the best choice we had to make.”

Pieter Serry and Ilan Van Wilder are the only ones left in this Giro. “There are now only two of them on the bus,” Lodewijck continues. “It’s always nice to have someone extra. Ballerini is also a mood maker within the group. It is a pity for him that he has to leave, but in terms of results this will not change much for the team.