Lyme disease proves the cause of Steinhauser's struggles with form
Georg Steinhauser was a revelation of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, winning stage 17 on his Grand Tour debut. This year, though, he's struggled with form since completing his second Giro, abandoning his first race back after two stages of the Tour of Austria, and then withdrawing from EF Education-EasyPost's longlist for the Vuelta a España. It now turns out he's been struggling with Lyme disease.
"After bad sensations on the bike, the team and I decided to stop the preparations for the Vuelta a few week ago," Steinhauser wrote on Instagram. "It turned out that the reason for the problems was that I got infected with Lyme disease. Mentally it was tough to be thrown back again. But it helps that we found the cause. I’m grateful for the team to be able to focus on recovery for now. I‘m taking my time but I really hope to still get some racedays in this year."
