Marlen Reusser's Tour GC ambitions hit by food poisoning
Marlen Reusser's hopes of challenging for the GC in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift have taken a significant hit with the Movistar rider coming down with an apparent case of food poisoning just before the race.
"I ate something that made me vomit it out during the night, and I'm not in a good place again," Reusser said in a pre-Tour press conference on Friday. "It's very annoying at the moment. I know that it was the dinner because I've seen it," Reusser added with a laugh.
Reusser also had a gastrointestinal issue at the Giro d'Italia women a few weeks back which ultimately saw her lose the overall lead of the race on the penultimate stage.
Reusser said Friday she is now not sure what to expect from the Tour, saying "I need to see how I feel tomorrow [on stage 1] ... and then we just need to see day by day." Escape understands that Reusser might now target stage wins at the race alongside dual stage winner at the recent Giro, Liane Lippert.
Meanwhile over at Lidl-Trek, Amanda Spratt has withdrawn from the Tour a day before the start after also getting ill.
"I became sick overnight and we decided it’s just not a good idea to stay and risk impacting the health and performance of my [Lidl-Trek] team for a race everyone has worked so hard for," Spratt wrote on Instagram on Friday. "I know they are ready and will be great. This is a tough one to accept."
Lauretta Hanson has been flown in as Spratt's replacement.
