Video: Matt Wilson forced to quit the Giro d'Italia

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Australia struck by stomach virus

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Matt Wilson (Garmin-Cervelo) heads to the sign on(Image credit: Mark Johnson/www.ironstring.com)

Australia's Matt Wilson was the maglia nera or lanterne rouge of the Giro d'Italia for much of the last week but was forced to retire during Wednesday's stage due to a stomach virus.

Wilson dug deep to get through the three mountain stages and especially Sunday's marathon stage to Gardeccia, in the hope of recovering during the rest day. But he was severely weakened by the virus and climbed off at the feed zone during the stage.

His Garmin-Cervelo teammate Murilo Fischer also climbed off after suffering with the same virus. The American team is now down to five riders after already losing Brett Lancaster and Tyler Farrar.

Stephen Farrand
Stephen Farrand
Editor-at-large

Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).