Giulio Pellizzari did not ride his bike on the Giro d'Italia rest day, prioritising rest and recovery in the hope he can salvage something from the next two weeks of racing.
The talented young Italian was co-leader of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe alongside Jai Hindley. He impressed in Bulgaria, tried to go with Jonas Vingegaard on the Blockhaus mountain finish but then cracked on the stage to Corno alle Scale due to a stomach virus.
He lost 1:28 to the Dane and slipped to ninth overall, 2:51 down on Vingegaard. He is expected to lose another chunk of time in Tuesday's flat and fast 42km time trial along the Tuscan coast.
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According to La Gazzetta dello Sport and BiciPro, Pellizzari, Hindley and domestique Gianni Moscon did not train on the rest day due to the stomach virus, as they prioritized recovery over time trial training. It is unclear how badly the virus has hit Hindley.
Pellizzari was reportedly unable to digest food and was close to vomiting during Sunday's stage.
He emerged from his room late on Monday, going for a short walk on the Tuscan seafront. He will have a chance to study the time trial course on Tuesday morning and will race later in the afternoon.
He could lose several minutes to Vingegaard but Pellizzari has no intention to quit the Giro.
"I feel a little bit better but not much. I'm going to fight on. I'm not quitting," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport's Ciro Scognamiglio.
"We'll see how it goes and try to limit the damage."
Red Bull know the time trial is a key stage in this year's Corsa Rosa and intense 50-minute effort. Pellizzari's coach Sylwester Szymd just hopes he can live to fight another day, after he has recovered from the virus.
"It all depends on how he feels. He didn't ride his bike on the rest day. If he doesn't feel good he's got to try to save the day just like he did at Corno alle Scale," Szymd said.
"Giulio is in the form of his life. He can recover from a virus, the Giro is still long."
Red Bull have tried to protect Pellizzari, help him recover and stay optimistic for the next few days.
"The first eight days were really great and went according to plan," sports director Christian Pömer said via the team's website.
"Yesterday [Sunday] we had a small setback. But we still have 65 percent of the vertical metres ahead of us and a time trial.
"So we're confident that it's still possible to achieve our two goals - an overall podium and a stage win. The team spirit is really excellent. That's why we believe that we can pick up where we left off over the next few days."
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