Blow for Matteo Jorgenson as illness in Visma-Lease a Bike camp leaves him with just three teammates at Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

After Wout van Aert’s exit on Friday morning, Visma-Lease a Bike have been further depleted at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, losing two riders to illness ahead of stage 7.

Jørgen Nordhagen, who climbed impressively on Friday’s opening mountain stage, is a non-starter on Saturday’s stage, and the same goes for the Classics specialist Per Strand Hagenes.

“Both riders developed symptoms of illness overnight,” read a statement from Visma-Lease a Bike. “We wish Per and Jørgen a speedy recovery.”

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The news is a blow for the team’s US leader Matteo Jorgenson as he fights for the podium in the weekend’s blockbuster mountain finale.

With seven riders at the start of the race, Visma are down to four, leaving Jorgenson without much support and without his closest ally in the mountains.

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Nordhagen, the 21-year-old Norwegian climber who was an impressive fourth at the Tour de Romandie last month, had done much of Friday’s final climb alongside Jorgenson, finishing 13 seconds behind his leader and ahead of a number of other GC candidates.

There have been reports of widespread illness at the race formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné, with Movistar boss Eusebio Unzué talking of a flu outbreak as he also lost several riders.

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