Virus wreaks havoc in Beijing
Euskaltel got the Tour of Beijing off to a terrible start today. Several riders have been suffering from gastroenteritis for days now, meaning their performances in today's 11,3km ITT were severely compromised. According to the team's webiste, Samu Sánchez and Mikel Nieve are thought to be worse off. Sánchez was caught and passed by Martin on his way to a lowly 133rd place a full 1:57 down, while Nieve was only seven seconds faster in 124th. As a result, Samu is now ruled out of the race for a top overall placing.
The team's top performers were Astarloza and J Izagirre who both ended up 1:05 down in 52nd and 53rd respectively. Stage result:
- 52, Astarloza, 1:05
- 53, J Izagirre, s.t.
- 80, Antón, 1:19
- 91, Txurruka, 1:26
- 112, A Pérez, 1:39
- 124, Nieve, 1:50
- 133, Sánchez, 1:57
- 134, Landa, 1:59
5 comments:
I knew something had to be wrong...
Did you see the pictures of the smog?
Stupid place to have a bike race.
If the team do end up going pro-conti then they will be spared having to send a team to a race that doesn't suit their strengths at great expense that actually harms the riders health. The UCI are going down the same path that has resulted in FIFA giving the World Cup to the utterly inapropriate Quatar.
I only partly agree with you Stephen.
Globalizing cycling is, in my opinion, one of the few things the UCI actually deserves credit for. The sport desperately needs to expand.
Staging a race, a WorldTour-race, in China is not the best thing they've ever done though. The fact that the organizer of the race is part of the UCI doesn't reflect well on them.
I think having to sport in China is great...But they just should do it somewhere else than beijing. There are many places in CHina that are great and beautiful for riding.
I'm all for expanding the sport but the riders health should come first.
The health issues were raised prior to the Olympics and nothing seemes to have changed. To award them a race without any signs of improvement in the environment is almost saying 'its bad but so what, thats Beijing'. I think it sends out the wrong message.
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