Tour de France: Ruben Guerreiro out with non-COVID-related illness
American team down to seven riders as the race moves towards the second rest day.
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Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education-EasyPost) will not start stage 9 of the Tour de France due to a ‘non-COVID-related illness’. The rider, who was sharing a room at the Tour de France with American athlete Neilson Powless, crashed heavily during the opening stages of the race in Denmark and has now been struck with sickness.
Guerreiro had been sitting in 78th position overall after eight stages of racing.
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It looked as though Guerreiro had come through the worst following his crash-related injuries. He finished a creditable 30th on the summit finish at La Super Planche des Belles Filles on Friday, and was a potential contender for a stage victory in the second and third weeks of the race. His departure leaves EF Education-EasyPost with seven riders still in the race.
Guerreiro had come into the Tour de France with his morale high and his form on point. He finished ninth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné and then went on to win the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge.
Powless currently sits eighth on GC, 1:41 behind overall leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). Veteran EF leader Rigoberto Urán is 16th at 3:24. Meanwhile Magnus Cort has a slender one point lead over Pogačar in the king of the mountains competition. The Dane will likely need to be in the break on stage 9 if he wants to try keep the jersey heading into the second rest day of the race.
Ruben Guerreiro will not take the start for Stage 9 at the Tour de France due to a non-COVID-related illness. Rest up, campeão, and we look forward to seeing you on the roads later this summer.
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 10, 2022