Trek-Segafredo have announced that Giulio Ciccone won’t be able to lead their challenge at the upcoming Giro d’Italia as a result of ongoing symptoms of Covid-19. After delivering a positive test result for Covid on 24 April, the day after he had finished 13th at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Italian climber had been hoping that he might still be able to take his place in Trek’s line-up for his national tour, which starts in his home region of Abruzzo. However, he’s been unable to train since then due to sinusitis, a cough and fatigue.
‘Giving up the Giro breaks my heart. I can’t find any other words to describe my feelings right now,’ said Ciccone, who’s had a very strong start to the season, taking summit victory wins at the Tour of Valencia in February and the Volta a Catalunya in March, plus a string of high GC finishes. ‘I would have faced my favorite race after the best start to a season of my career. I would have started from home, from my Abruzzo; a historic event, even unique. Everything was perfect and then…’
