'Half the peloton is ill' – manure blamed as riders fall ill ahead of Giro d'Italia, creating drama for some teams

At least one team has been forced to change their Giro d'Italia lineup late after riders fell ill after racing in Belgium last weekend, possibly because of manure.

Multiple riders who competed in the Famenne Ardenne Classic on Sunday, including a number expected to start the Giro, have been afflicted by a sudden illness that’s suspected to have been caused by bacteria from cow pats on the Belgian roads flicking up onto the drinking bottles of the riders.

Just five of team Lotto–Intermarche's full complement of eight riders attended the Giro race presentation in Bulgaria yesterday, with three riders having been hospitalised after suffering symptoms that included stomach pains, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting, as confirmed by the Belgian team.

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The sickness is believed to have been caused by the ingestion of a bacteria called campylobacter, which is found in cow dung – a substance that was present in abundance on the rain-splattered rural roads of the Ardennes at the weekend.

When campylobacter gets in your system it can result in gastrointestinal infections that last anywhere between two and 10 days, with people typically feeling the effects of the illness for around a week. All of which is bad news for those riders who intend to compete in the 21-stage Giro, which gets underway tomorrow (Friday 7 May) in Bulgaria.

Disaster for some riders has created opportunity for others and, as a result of the illness, Lotto's line-up for the Giro has been re-jigged, as reported in the Italian outlet Quotidiano, with Belgian Liam Slock being replaced by 22-year-old British rider Joshua Giddings, who only turned pro last year.

Top riders afflicted by the cow-pat pox include 24-year-old Belgian Arnaud De Lie, who won the Famenne Ardenne Classic, and had been expected to lead Lotto's team at the Giro. De Lie thought he'd escaped the infection but then fell ill while flying to Bulgaria. “He’s not feeling well, but his participation in the Giro is not compromised at this stage,” a spokesperson for the team told The Guardian.

However, Lotto Intermarché sporting director and former pro rider Maxime Bouet was putting a slightly less positive spin on the situation. “Half the peloton is ill,” the Frenchman was quoted to have said on the team website.

Other riders and teams have also been badly impacted. “We have heard that several teams have been affected and that some have had entire squads in hospital," Bouet told CyclingPro.Net. Belgian broadcaster Sporza is also reporting that teams including Alpecin have riders who are suffering the from the illness.