Primož Roglič’s Jumbo-Visma team has suffered another blow ahead of the Giro d’Italia as Jan Tratnik was forced out of the race after he suffered a knee injury in a training crash on Friday.
Tratnik has been replaced in the line-up by British neo-professional Thomas Gloag after Jumbo-Visma were given dispensation by the commissaires to call up a late substitute.
"The Commissaires Panel, by agreement with the Organisation Direction, has authorised the substitution of rider no. 147 Jan Tratnik, for medical reasons following an accident during training before the start of the Giro d'Italia," read a statement from the Giro organisation on Friday evening.
Jumbo-Visma had earlier announced that Tratnik had been taken to hospital for assessment following his training crash near Pescara, and it soon emerged that Gloag has been placed on standby as his replacement.
The team's Giro line-up had already undergone several revisions in recent days due to a spate of COVID-19 cases on the team, with Tobias Foss, Robert Gesink and replacement Jos van Emden all ruled out of the race.
Rohan Dennis and Sam Oomen have since been drafted into the squad for the Giro, which gets underway with a 19.6km time trial to Ortona on Saturday.
Wilco Kelderman was previously forced out of Jumbo-Visma's Giro plans through injury last month, with Sepp Kuss stepping in to take over as Roglič’s key supporting rider in the high mountains.
Roglič's compatriot Tratnik joined Jumbo-Visma in the winter from Bahrain Victorious, and the 33-year-old warmed up for the Giro with an aggressive display at Liège-Bastogne-Liège two weeks ago. Tratnik won a stage of the 2020 Giro into San Daniele del Friuli.
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