Giro d'Italia: "Wear a mask": Corona worries in the battle for pink

When young star Remco Evenepoel rolled onto the pink stage in the glaring spotlights of the packed Piazza della Rinascita in Pescara, he had put on his red mask to be on the safe side.

The road cycling world champion is particularly cautious before the start of the 106th Giro d'Italia, after all, four hard months of preparation with many hardships should not have been in vain. Because just in time for the first big tour of the year, the corona worries are back in cycling.

Corona cases before the Giro d'Italia 2023

Several cases have alarmed Evenepoel and Co. "The loss of several riders in the peloton must be a message to everyone that we have to be careful that the virus is still there. This applies to riders, sports directors and journalists. Wear a mask," warned the exceptional Belgian rider. Many of his colleagues took a similar view to Evenepoel at the atmospheric team presentation on Thursday evening and once again wore a face mask.

The virus has caused some upheaval, particularly in the Jumbo-Visma team of Evenepoel's great rival Primoz Roglic (Slovenia). Three riders had to be replaced for the Tour of Italy starting on Saturday after being infected. Although there are no longer any corona restrictions or mandatory tests this season, once the virus is in the team, there is a risk of illness and cancellations. "If you're ill at this level, you have a problem," said Roglic with a view to the difficult tour, which involves 3489.2 kilometres and more than 50,000 metres of climbing from Fossacesia Marina to the finish in Rome.

Kämna and Bora-Hansgrohe team also warned

"None of us are relaxed," German hopeful Lennard Kämna told dpa with regard to the coronavirus issue. His Bora-hansgrohe racing team had all team members tested before the Giro, as sports director Jens Zemke emphasised: "The virus is obviously highly contagious."

Corona could influence the battle for the maglia rosa. The big duel between Evenepoel and Roglic promises to be exciting enough. The 23-year-old Belgian, who is so often compared to his legendary compatriot Eddy Merckx, wants to win his second grand tour after winning the Vuelta last year and is already thinking ahead: "We have a plan. We're here with more or less the same team as in Spain to take the next step, to climb another level with a view to the Tour. That's the logical choice." In other words: 2024 should see the great duel between the talents of the century Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar on France's country roads.

Duel Evenepoel vs. Roglic

But before that happens, Evenepoel first has to beat Roglic. That will be hard enough. The Slovenian recently had the edge over the Belgian in the Tour of Catalonia, partly due to his greater explosiveness in the mountains. Evenepoel, who underlined his strong form a good a fortnight ago with his superior victory in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic, is therefore also relying on the 73 kilometres of time trial. The race kicks off on Saturday with 19.6 kilometres from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona in a battle against the clock.

Then the German time trial champion Kämna also wants to make his first mark. The aim is to finish in the top ten, as well as in the overall standings. This year, the 26-year-old has made the transition from stage hunter to classement rider. Together with team boss Ralph Denk, Kämna is pursuing a plan to reach the podium at a Grand Tour in the future. Kämna wants to show it at the Giro. In the hope that Corona doesn't put a spanner in the works.

Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved