COVID-19 is has been wreaking havoc at the men’s Tour de France with rosters being swapped out last-minute before the start and riders and staff having to pull out of the race following positive tests.
Now, the women’s peloton is also seeing this latest wave of COVID-19 affect the Giro d’Italia Donne.
It isn’t just the virus, however, that is seeing riders drop out. Crashes sustained at this race and others has meant that already-stretched teams have seen riders drop out of the race despite being just three stages into the 10-day event.
The absences were noted before the race had even begun, with a handful of riders not starting the 4.7km prologue in Cagliari on Thursday.
The defending champions of the Giro Donne, Team SD Worx, have been affected with Anna Shackley testing positive for COVID-19 and being replaced by Christine Majerus before the start. Then, on Saturday, Lonneke Uneken did not take to the start of stage 3 – the reason for which has not yet been revealed.
Rachel Neylan (Cofidis) was amongst those who did not start the race. The team did not give an explanation but the 40-year-old Australian also did not start the final stage of the Tour de Suisse women, which took place the week prior to the Giro, after crashing on the previous day.
Elsewhere, Laura Tomasi of UAE Tam ADQ did not start the prologue, however, no reason has been provided by the team for Tomassi’s absence.
Also not present in Cagliari on Thursday was Floortje Mackaij of Team DSM who did not start the race at all after testing positive for COVID-19.
The next day saw a few more riders registered as ‘DNS’ on the day. German rider Hannah Ludwig (Uno-X) was amongst them as well as Servetto-Makhymo-Beltrami TSA rider, Anna Potokina who’s teammate Isotta Barbieri did not finish the stage.
Canadian climber Olivia Baril (Valcar Travel & Service) did not finish stage 3 after she was involved in a crash on stage 2. In another blow to Servetto-Makhymo-Beltrami TSA Viktoriia Melnychuk also did not finish, leaving the team with just three riders.
With a rest day on Sunday, the race will continue on Monday with at least nine fewer riders taking to the startline.
Cyclingnews will have coverage of all 10 stages of the Giro d'Italia Donne along with race reports, galleries, results, and exclusive features and news.
