‘Half the peloton is ill’: cowpats blamed as cyclists fall sick after race in Belgium

Some riders hospitalised after Famenne Ardenne Classic

Dung may have sprayed on to riders in wet conditions

Several cyclists, including riders due to start the Giro d’Italia on Friday, fell ill after a Belgian one-day race, with cow manure on the roads suspected to be the cause.

Three Lotto-Intermarché riders suffered from abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting, and were briefly hospitalised, the team said from Bulgaria, where the Giro begins on Friday.

Arnaud De Lie, the winner of the Famenne Ardenne Classic on Sunday and who is expected to be the Belgian team’s leader at the Giro, initially showed no symptoms before feeling nauseous during the flight to Bulgaria.