Classics specialist John Degenkolb has been forced to withdraw from the traditional Milan-Sanremo race due to flu, the 33-year-old and his DSM team have announced. Born in Thuringia, Degenkolb was supposed to lead the team in the first spring classic of the season on 19 March.
"Instead of flying to Milan today, I have to stay in bed to recover from a strong flu. This is of course very sad news, especially for me to miss Milano-Sanremo, one of my favourite races," Degenkolb wrote on his Facebook page: "But there is no other option than to fully recover and get healthy again to continue the rest of the classics season as planned."
In 2015, Degenkolb triumphed in Sanremo and shortly afterwards also won the cobbled classic Paris-Roubaix. Since then, however, the 33-year-old has been waiting for a victory in the so-called monuments of cycling. It is possible that Degenkolb caught the flu at Paris-Nice, where a number of riders had dropped out in recent weeks due to cold symptoms.
There are other prominent absentees from Milan-Sanremo in world champion Julian Alaphilippe. The 2019 French winner is suffering from bronchitis and a fever. European champion Sonny Colbrelli also has to miss out due to bronchitis.
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