Declercq out of Opening Weekend with heart issue

The sight of the tall, powerful figure of Tim Declercq stringing out the peloton has been a fixture of the Classics for several years, but the rider voted as the world's best domestique for two years running will not be with QuickStep-AlphaVinyl this Opening Weekend after being diagnosed with an inflammation of the lining of the heart, pericarditis.

Declercq wrote on Instagram that he began having symptoms during the Volta ao Algarve last week and has been given time off the bike as a precaution by the team doctors.

"Unfortunately no [Omloop Het Nieuwsblad] for me," Declercq wrote. "[I] started the season really well and I felt ready to give my best for the [QuickStep-AlphaVinyl] boys, but a few hours after the [first] stage of Algarve, I felt really bad. We didn't know immediately what it was but later I was diagnosed with pericarditis."

Symptoms of pericarditis usually include chest pain and irregular heart rhythms. The condition is usually the result of a viral or bacterial infection and normally goes away once the infection is gone.

The 32-year-old said his symptoms have already been resolved, but wants to make sure there are no long-term negative effects, so he will follow the doctors' advice to take "the next weeks off the bike".

That means Declercq, rather than chasing down breakaways or splitting the field in crosswinds, will be watching his team from the sofa, cheering for them "with little bit of a bleeding heart (figuratively)."