Thibau Nys was forced to abandon the Baloise Belgium Tour before Saturday's hilly Queen stage of the race after being struck by overnight 'gastrointestinal trouble.'
Lidl-Trek teammate Tim Declercq also became ill overnight and left the Belgium Tour, while Andrea Bagioli did not start stage 7 of the Tour de Suisse due to overnight digestive issues. Alex Kirsch was also forced to quit the Belgium Tour earlier this week.
22-year-old Nys is one of the riding stars of Belgian cycling and is expected to make his Tour de France debut in July. He impressed in Friday's time trial stage and was expected to fight for overall victory on stage 4 in the Ardennes hills around Durbuy.
Nys is considered a contender for next weekend's Belgian national championships and hopes to target the hillier stages in the first half of the Tour de France, sharing a protected role with sprinter Jonathan Milan.
Lidl-Trek directeur sportif Maxime Monfort played down concerns that Nys' illness could affect his Tour de France.
"Thibau Nys had a bad night, but he is not seriously ill. "He feels empty and tired," Monfort told Het Laatste Nieuws.
"We had big ambitions for the general classification with him and he was the top favorite today. His abandonment is therefore regrettable but there is nothing we can do about it. He did not just want to start for the sake of starting and of course there are other races coming up."
"He should be able to get back on the bike on Sunday. Our selection has not been announced yet, but we are not worried."
