De Lie misses Giro presentation due to unusual illness: 'We hope he'll be ready'

Lotto Intermarché confirmed on Wednesday that Liam Slock would miss the Giro due to the illness, which has also affected Milan Menten and the Famenne Classic winner De Lie. 

Reports from Het Nieuwsblad and Sporza stated that the illness is believed to have been caused by Campylobacter, a bacteria found in the intestines of animals. It has been speculated that the combination of rain and cow dung on the course caused the bacterial infection among the riders, with teams including Flanders-Baloise, VolkerWessels and Van Rysel-Roubaix also affected.

Slock has been replaced in the Lotto Intermarché Giro squad by Joshua Giddings, while Menten will only travel to Bulgaria on Wednesday evening. De Lie has already arrived for the Grande Partenza, but he did not attend the team presentation.

“He’s here but not here,” Lotto Intermarché sports director Maxime Bouet told CyclingPro.net. “There was a problem at the Famenne Classic where a lot of riders fell ill, and several riders ended up in hospital. Arnaud is here in Bulgaria, and we hope he’ll start to feel better before Friday. 

“We’ve heard that a few teams were impacted, including going to hospital. For us, the priority is the health of the riders above all. That’s why we quickly replaced Liam Slock with Joshua Giddings. Milan had symptoms at the Famenne Classic, but he’s much better and he’s going to come to Bulgaria this evening. 

“We preferred to leave Arnaud rest in the hotel because he still has a bit of fever. And we didn’t want to infect other teams either, that’s important. Health is the priority for us.”

Bouet outlined the symptoms that his riders had been displaying. “In two teams, it’s the same thing – digestive problems, diarrhoea, vomiting,” he said. “Some riders from our team went to hospital for treatment, and I think it was the same thing for other teams.” 

De Lie was a late addition to Lotto Intermarché’s Giro squad after a disappointing Classics campaign, and he will set out from Nessebar with the objective of winning a stage in his debut at the Corsa Rosa.

“Arnaud is here and we hope he’ll be ready,” Bouet said. “We have to stay positive. It’s not just Arnaud in the team; we have eight riders in the team and they can all aim for stage wins.”