Arnaud De Lie and Edoardo Affini both appeared to be back on the mend ahead of the Tour de France after the pair fell victim to double misfortune – an illness and a crash – shortly before the upcoming Grand Tour.
De Lie, who in May was forced out of the Giro d’Italia in the first week after starting the race ill, missed the team presentation of the Tour de France on Thursday due to a stomach problem.
“I got sick the day before yesterday,” De Lie said in a pre-race press conference on Friday, according to CyclingPro.
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“I had a fever during the night and barely slept. Yesterday I was really sick. It certainly wasn’t ideal for my confidence.
“But today I’m much better. I still have a slight stomach discomfort, but I’ll be out for an hour soon. We’ll see how it goes.”
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Things seemed to be looking up for De Lie, but he couldn’t complete Lotto-Intermarché’s team time trial recon on Saturday afternoon, and was reported by Het Nieuwsblad to have stopped and climbed into the team car midway through.
It remains to be seen if De Lie will start the opening later on Saturday.
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He wasn’t likely to be a top contender during the opening days in Catalonia, which encompass a team time trial, a tough hilly race in Montjuïc Park, and a ride north into the mountains. However, the early stages in France, including 5, 7, and 8, are more suited to his skills.
“It’s not like last time. Back then it was a virus. This time we don’t know the cause, but a blood test showed that I haven’t developed any antibodies,” De Lie said, referring to his pre-Giro illness.
“Starting like this is certainly not ideal, but tomorrow I just have to make sure I get to the finish line within the time limit. The first few days of the Tour will be mostly about survival, that’s for sure.”
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For Affini, meanwhile, he remains in the Visma-Lease a Bike selection after a hard crash last week at the Italian Time Trial Championships. The rouleur – who figures to be a key rider in the opening day TTT – was taken to hospital, but will be at the start on Saturday afternoon.
Affini did have doubts over whether he’d recover in time for the Tour, however.
“Especially that Thursday evening and Friday morning, I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to make it’. I did have an MRI on Friday, and the result was positive,” Affini told WielerFlits.
“After that, there was a consultation with the team doctor and the medical staff, and they thought it would probably still be possible.
“But we just have to see how things went in the days that followed. Fortunately, the recovery was fast enough to be here.”
Affini’s swift recovery means that Visma head to the Tour without further changes to their optimal squad, with Wout van Aert and Christophe Laporte both having already withdrawn due to injury.
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