Cycling: Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) pulled out of this year's Giro d'Italia on the second rest day today. The Swiss had been fighting a persistent gastrointestinal virus and its after-effects since the start of the Tour of Italy. Now the four-time time trial world champion had to pull the ripcord in order not to endanger the rest of the season.
Frustration? Reason? A mix of both? We probably won't know exactly why Fabian Cancellara left the Giro d'Italia today, but yesterday's time trial may have been the deciding factor. After the Trek professional had actually recovered somewhat from the virus in his last season, which had hit him hard in the first days of the race, he must have realized yesterday on the 40km individual time trial that it just wasn't quite enough. In the end there was a gap of 28 seconds to the day's winner Roglic and a thankless fourth place.
"I have to look ahead. It was hard to deal with the illness in the first few days. This is the best moment to leave so I can continue the season." commented Spartacus himself on the step. Understandable - after all, after yesterday, there was no longer any prospect of fulfilling his dream of being able to wear the maglia rosa for the first time in his long career.
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