The current white jersey holder Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) has been forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia with illness ahead of stage 11, following a similar abandon from teammate Olav Kooij 24 hours earlier.
The team made the announcement on Wednesday morning. “The Giro will have to continue without the biggest smile of the peloton,” the statement read. “We regret to announce that Cian Uijtdebroeks is forced to abandon the race. Cian did not feel well the past days and after yesterday’s stage, he fell ill.”
Kooij left the race on Tuesday, ahead of stage 10 with what the team described as a fever. Israel-Premier Tech’s Ethan Vernon was also forced to abandon with what the team described as an “acute respiratory viral infection with fever”.
The departure of Uijtdebroeks marks a major blow for Visma-Lease a Bike, as the Belgian rider was the team leader, the only GC contender and the leader in the best young rider’s white jersey competition. Retaining the white jersey had most likely become the team’s overall target in the 2024 race.
More dramatically, Kooij and Uijtdebroeks’ departures add to teammates Christophe Laporte and Robert Gesink leaving earlier in the race, meaning Visma-Lease a Bike now has only four riders competing at the Giro.
More to come…