Romain Bardet abandons the Giro d’Italia on Stage 13

Romain Bardet commented after the stage had concluded: “I’m really disappointed to leave the race like this – we’ve all worked really hard to get here and invested a lot to be in the best possible shape. I felt really sick yesterday during the stage and it hasn’t gotten any better. We tried all we could to continue but today I had nothing left in me to get through the day. It’s really disappointing but we have a great team here and I’m confident they will continue this Giro in a good way with great spirit and hopefully some more good results. I wish them all the best.”

Talking of Bardet’s departure from the race, Team DSM coach Matt Winston said: “Obviously everyone’s disappointed to see Romain leave the race. We were in a really good position and the entire team has worked hard to get to this place where we’re ready to challenge for the GC. It’s one of those things though and that’s sport; the most important thing now is to get Romain healthy. We also have quite a number of days of racing left so we will regroup and refocus our strategy for the remainder of the race.”

Team DSM Doctor Anko Boelens added: “During yesterday’s stage Romain started to feel unwell with stomach complaints. We tried to manage the situation during the race to get him through the day before he could take some rest in the evening, but unfortunately we saw little improvement overnight. This morning we decided it was safe to give the day a go, and tried all we could to get him through the stage but still with complaints and such low energy it was not possible for him to continue anymore”