Isaac Del Toro’s rear wheel may be somewhat lacking in drafters this week at the Vuelta a España. The 20-year-old UAE-Team Emirates rider has been diagnosed with Covid, is not asymptomatic (he has “mild symptoms”, according to the team), and will be huffing and puffing his way around Spain for the foreseeable.
Meanwhile, riders including Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) left the race with the virus, as did Del Toro’s UAE team-mate Joāo Almedia. He abandoned the race after Sunday’s stage nine, demonstrating that the team appears to be playing it on a case-by-case basis.
