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After their beautiful begin to the Volta a Catalunya, issues turned sharply for the more serious for Staff BikeExchange-Jayco on stage 3 of the race when GC chief Simon Yates fell ailing and misplaced all hope of victory within the GC battle, whereas stage 1 winner Michael Matthews needed to abandon.
Seven kilometres from the summit of La Molina, Yates abruptly sat up and took no half within the remaining surge for the road. He lastly completed greater than 10 minutes down. A choice on whether or not Yates will begin on stage 4 shall be taken on Thursday morning.
Staff sources later instructed Cyclingnews, “Simon was not feeling properly at this time – he had a gentle non-covid associated sickness after Paris-Good and got here right here nonetheless recovering from it, and at this time he simply did not really feel nice on the bike.”
For a lot of a standout efficiency for Simon Yates in Paris-Good, claiming second total and the ultimate stage at Col d’Eze, had propelled the Briton into the place of high favorite on the Volta a Catalunya.
Nonetheless, even previous to Wednesday’s powerful day, Yates had already suffered a few setbacks on stage 2 when he was caught up and fell in a crash within the fraught, echelon-filled final 20 kilometres.
A sustained pursuit by his squad to try to convey him again to the entrance group didn’t work out utterly and Yates misplaced 33 seconds to a number of different favourites.
That was not disastrous in itself in GC instances, even when the harm was additional compounded when Yates and two different teammates, Damien Howson and Michael Hepburn, every acquired a 20-second penalty for, as per the UCI communique launched late on Tuesday, ‘Sheltering behind or profiting from the slipstream of a automobile.’
Matthews’ abandon got here after he fell ailing halfway by way of the extraordinarily powerful stage, which featured three first-category climbs.
“Michael wasn’t feeling properly in the course of the stage and after getting sick we determined it was higher for him to cease,” sports activities director Gene Bates said on the workforce’s web site.
Though Staff BikeExchange-Jayco might now be on the again foot in the remainder of the Volta, it could actually’t or should not overshadow what has been a memorably profitable begin to the race for the workforce.
The Australian WorldTour squad dominated the primary two days of racing, courtesy of back-to-back stage wins with Matthews and Kaden Groves on Monday and Tuesday, the latter securing his first WorldTour win of his profession.
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