By Shane Stokes
Eddie Dunbar has reacted to the news of Remco Evenepoel’s positive test, saying that it ‘was a bit of a shock’ to hear about the Giro d’Italia race leader withdrawing with the virus. However he said that it was obvious something was not right with the Belgian after Sunday’s time trial.
“I don’t know him very well, but if you look at the photos after the stage yesterday, you could see something…” he told stickybottle on Monday’s rest day. “Whether it was COVID, it was clear that there was something going on with him. There was obviously some bit of an illness there.”
Evenepoel was in ebullient form at the start of the race, dominating the opening time trial, and riding strongly in the days afterwards. However he crashed hard on stage five and was then below par on the mountainous stage eight to Fossombrone, losing ground to Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart (both Ineos Grenadiers).
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He bounced back in Sunday’s time trial, winning the test by one second ahead of Thomas, although he seemed to fade in the second half of that 35 kilometre race.
“Obviously, it is still very impressive what he did,” Dunbar said. “He still won the TT, given the circumstances. It’s unfortunate for him, but I think he’s going to have plenty more chances to come back and win a Giro, somehow…”
Asked what he and his own team are doing to try to avoid the virus, something which could take Dunbar himself out of the race, he said that they are being diligent but that there is an element of luck involved too.
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“All the staff are wearing masks when they’re on the bus, and everything like that,” he said. “But I suppose that’s all you can do, really. You can only avoid it for so long. If it hits, it hits. There nothing really you can do about it. At some point we’re going to have to move on.
"When you’re in a race for six hours a day, 170 guys, and there are guys with bidons [on their bikes] and [others] blowing their noses and stuff like that… that’s what happens in a race. There is no avoiding it, really.
“If you’re gonna get it, you’re gonna get it, whether you’re wearing a mask or not. Simple as that, I think. That’s just my view on it. Whether that’s right I don’t know. But the only way you could avoid it really is to wear a mask in a race, which isn’t going to happen. It’s not realistic, really.”
The Irishman is sitting 11th overall after the Evenepoel’s withdrawal, 2 minutes and 32 seconds behind new race leader Thomas.
Meanwhile Evenepoel’s team has said it fully supports his withdrawal, even if he won the time trial and was leading the Giro overall. Team boss Patrick Lefevere pushed back at Dutch journalist Raymond Kerckhoff’s comment on Twitter asking if athletes who have few or no symptoms should withdraw from races.
“Yes, Raymond,” he said. “You never know what’s going on under the skin. This is not a 9-5 job. Zero risk.”
Team doctor Yvon van Mol told L’Equipe several months ago that it was crucial to be careful. “We don’t know the consequences for their cardiac system, and our job as doctors is to prevent riders with COVID-19 from racing. We don’t have enough of a perspective to be sure that won’t have an effect on their health. It’s a precaution.”
