The manure and the rain are causing a wave of illnesses following the Famenne Ardennes Classic, and it is already affecting the Giro

The Famenne Ardennes Classic 2026, held last Sunday, May 3, in the Belgian Ardennes with the start and finish in Marche-en-Famenne, has left much more than the first victory of the season for Arnaud De Lie (Lotto). Several professional and continental teams have reported in recent hours that numerous riders finished sick after competing in a day marked by rain, mud, and particularly dirty roads due to manure and agricultural machinery.

The mud and manure from the Famenne Ardennes Classic cause last-minute withdrawals for the Giro

The Dutch media outlet WielerFlits has gathered testimonies from several affected teams. According to this information, the combination of water kicked up by the peloton and the dirt accumulated on many sections of the course has caused a wave of gastrointestinal problems and cases of gastroenteritis among riders and team members.

The most significant case directly affects the Giro d'Italia. Belgian Liam Slock (Lotto Development Team) will not be able to start the Italian race due to illness and will be replaced at the last minute by Joshua Giddings. In the same team, Arnaud De Lie and Milan Menten also fell ill, although the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports that both are recovering favorably.

One of the most affected teams has been the Continental Metec-Solarwatt squad, where four riders fell ill after the race, forcing the team to show up this Wednesday with only four cyclists at À travers les Hautes Fagnes, a UCI 1.2 event also held in Belgium. The team director, Michel Megens, informed the organization on Tuesday night about the high number of sick riders and the impossibility of timely relocating reserve riders. According to his account, the organization confirmed that several teams were facing exactly the same health problem and allowed for flexibility in last-minute substitutions.

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Abram Stockman and Joren Bloem, both from the Unibet Rose Rockets team, reported similar symptoms after competing in the Belgian classic.

Now part of the attention is focused on Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. The Swiss team competed in the Famenne Ardennes Classic with two riders who are set to start the Giro this Friday in Bulgaria: Matteo Moschetti and Fabio Christen. Moschetti finished third in the race, only surpassed by De Lie and Jens Verbrugghe.

So far, the Swiss team has not confirmed any cases of illness, although WielerFlits reports that at the time of contacting the team, there was still no clear information about possible affected individuals within the structure.