Christophe Laporte's spring is well and truly over. The Frenchman fell through the ice at Milan-San Remo and has been unable to train since due to illness and buttock problems. Therefore Visma-Lease a Bike has removed it from the list of participants in Dwars Door Vlaanderen and Tour of Flanders.
Last year he was one of the trendsetters with victories in Gent-Wevelgem and Dwars Door Vlaanderen, but this spring he is completely in the water for Christophe Laporte.
After a period of hill practice, the 31-year-old Frenchman made a great start with fifth place in Omloop, fourth place in Kuurne and 10th place in Strade Bianche.
Laporte then rode Milan-San Remo, but was already having problems aboard Cabi. The European champion surrendered and has been sidelined since then due to stomach and intestinal problems and a buttock injury.
Visma-Lease a Bike allows the Shadow Lord to participate in the E3 Saxo Classic and Gent-Wevelgem, but Dwars Door Vlaanderen and Tour of Flanders are also excluded from Laporte.
Wout van Aert's team has a full dispensary. Per Strand Hagenis suffered a double fracture to his nose on Friday, Tish Pinot suffers damage to his ribs after a fall in the Flemish Ardennes, and Jan Tratnik hit the asphalt hard yesterday.
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