Following news of the Giro d'Italia's first COVID-19 positive ahead of stage 6 to Naples, two more riders have left the race on Friday having caught the virus.
Arkéa-Samsic rider Clément Russo was forced to withdraw on Thursday, and he'll be joined on the list of riders heading home by Italian duo Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Giovanni Aleotti (Bora-Hansgrohe).
On Friday morning, the two teams announced that the riders wouldn't be starting the stage 7 mountain test to Gran Sasso d'Italia, taking the number of starters in Capua to 169.
"We are sorry to announce that Nicola Conci will not start in the seventh stage of the Giro d'Italia," announced Alpecin-Deceuninck. "Our 26-year-old Italian tested positive for COVID this morning. We wish him a good recovery!"
Conci made the step up from Alpecin-Deceuninck's development team this year after joining following the collapse of Gazprom-RusVelo. Racing his third Giro, the Trentini enjoyed a strong ride in the mountains on stage 4 to Lago Laceno, finishing fifth from the breakaway.
"Unfortunately, Giovanni Aleotti cannot start today's Giro stage as he tested positive for Covid," Bora-Hansgrohe announced on Twitter. "He showed symptoms after the stage and was immediately isolated from the rest of the team. We wish him a speedy recovery."
23-year-old Aleotti was in the midst of his third Giro d'Italia and was a key lieutenant for GC hopeful Aleksandr Vlasov, who now rely on a reduced support squad for the second mountain stage of the Giro's opening week.
Conci is the second rider from the Dutch squad to head home during the Giro, with Ramon Sinkeldam a DNS on stage 5 with stomach problems. Rémy Rochas (Cofidis) and Paul Lapeira (AG2R Citroën) have also left the race with illness.
In the lead-in to the race, several squads were hit by COVID-19 infections, with Jumbo-Visma having to replace Robert Gesink, Tobias Foss, and Jos Van Emden after the trio caught the illness.
Trek-Segafredo's GC hopeful Giulio Ciccone was another to miss out after falling ill the week before the Grande Partenza, while Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) and Henri Vandenabeele (Team DSM) also pulled from the start list days before the Giro.
