Belgium has lost one of their key road captains for Sunday's elite men's road race at the Road World Championships in Rwanda after Tiesj Benoot tested positive for COVID-19.
Benoot, who has taken part in seven Worlds road races, felt ill over the weekend and decided to take a test before travelling to Rwanda. Three tests returned positive results, ruling him out of taking part in this year's World Championships.
The 31-year-old told Het Laatste Nieuws that he's only suffering mild symptoms, but he and his team agreed it's best to avoid taking any risks.
"On Saturday during the Super 8 Classic, I wasn't feeling great, but I thought it was a result of my last vaccination before this World Championships," Benoot said.
"On Sunday, it didn't get any better, so I decided to take a COVID test. I took three, and they were all positive. Even though I don't feel sick and the symptoms are very mild, it doesn't seem wise or healthy to take any risks."
Benoot will be replaced in the Belgian squad by Louis Vervaeke – "a very worthy replacement", said Belgium coach Serge Pauwels.
Vervaeke will join Victor Campenaerts, Ilan Van Wilder, Quinten Hermans, Xandro Meurisse, Cian Uijtdebroeks, and Florian Vermeersch in the support squad for Remco Evenepoel.
Benoot, who recently finished seventh at the GP Montréal and fourth at the Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, said that missing out on the Worlds road race is a real disappointment given his strong form.
"I felt really good. At the GP Montréal, I felt great and felt like I could ride a good World Championships supporting Remco. In Sunday's time trial, you could see that the altitude and humidity will be a real battle of attrition in the road race, and with the altitude training and heat training, I was ready for such a tough race.
"Unfortunately, I'll have to watch that race on TV now, and I'm really bummed about it. Hopefully, I can finish my season on a high note with the European Championships and Il Lombardia."
Pauwels said that Benoot is a rider who could've helped Evenepoel deep into the final of the 267.5km road race in Kigali and called his absence from the race "incredibly unfortunate".
He was a key rider in the squad supporting Evenepoel during his triumph at the Paris Olympic Games last year. Now, the team will instead turn towards Van Wilder, Uijtdebroeks, and Vervaeke for help in the latter stages of the race.
"Tiesj is someone who could have gone deep into the final. He specifically prepared for this during his altitude training," Pauwels said.
"It's incredibly unfortunate for him and the team. He was also going to be the road captain, along with Victor Campenaerts. He's already ridden in many World Championships as a professional, and for good reason. He was a certainty in my selection very early on."
