Promising Belgian Classics star Arnaud De Lie has been diagnosed with Lyme disease and will miss the rest of the Spring Classics.
The Lotto Dstny rider had been struggling for form since the season began, and a recent update from the Belgian team said that the 22-year-old would take some time to reset ahead of the second half of the season.
However, a further update from the team, released on Thursday morning, explained that De Lie has now been diagnosed with a bacterial infection.
The Lotto Dstny statement read: "After a further check-up, Arnaud De Lie was diagnosed with the Lyme disease after having found antibodies for Lyme in his blood.
"It's possibly, as a Lyme diagnosis is never 100% conclusive, the reason why De Lie couldn't perform on a high level the past races.
"Treatment with antibiotics has been started, speedy recovery Arnaud!"
The previous update on the team's website, prior to the diagnosis, explained that the 22-year-old became sick at an altitude camp in Tenerife. He then suffered skin abrasions in a crash at Le Samyn which eventually forced him to abandon Paris-Nice.
The team confirmed to Cycling Weekly on Thursday morning that doctors treating De Lie believe a recent tick bite was behind his illness.
According to the NHS website, Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that can be spread to humans by infected ticks.
Early symptoms include "a circular or oval shaped rash around a tick bite" or other more general flu like symptoms.
"He [De Lie] will take some time to reset and build up towards the second part of the season. The date to come back in competition will be finally determined soon," the team said.
Tick season is often thought to be during the warmer months, from spring through to summer, but experts say that the parasites are now active in the autumn too, particularly in forests and areas where there may be longer grass at the side of the road.
If you're riding in an area where you think they could be present, covering up with clothing can help prevent them from making contact with your skin. Obviously wearing winter tights or leg warmers in the summer months is not realistic, so according to Bicycling Magazine, wearing strong insect repellent which is between 20 and 50% DEET can help prevent bites.
Other advice includes removing your clothes as soon as possible when you arrive home, and even leaving them outside for a while in order to allow any unwanted creatures to climb out of your bib shorts. Showering straight away is also recommended as ticks are likely to wash off in hot water and it will also allow you time to check for any on your skin.
De Lie has been hailed as a rising star in one-day races and won the GP de de Québec last year.
Before it was known that De Lie was suffering with Lyme disease, Lotto Dstny team manager Stéphane Heulot told Het Nieuwsblad that he believes his rider needs a full reset in order to get back to his best.
"It makes no sense to let him ride the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix in this condition,” he said, after De Lie placed 90th at Gent-Wevelgem.
"Arnaud now needs to rest and lay the foundation for the rest of the season. This was the wisest decision we could make.
"Letting him start in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix would not have been good for anyone. Not for him, not for the team. This was the only logical decision, his base was just not wide enough.
"We are not talking about the Tour de France yet, we are just working towards his next race. Arnaud must now first complete a good training block to be physically and mentally back at the start of his next races. Of course, he is disappointed, that goes without saying. But he is strong enough to get over this."
