Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) finished a very disappointing 27th in Sunday’s World up race in Plzen, Czech Republic. The former two-time World champion finished the race 3’10” slower than the current wearer of the rainbow jersey, teammate Zdenek Stybar. The reason for this was simple: Wellens was suffering from flu in the build up to the race and now has to take time out to recover before he races again.
“One day after Pilzen it’s not much better," said Wellens on his website. "I’ve had a lot of ups and downs with the flu; I can suppress the worst parts with paracetamol, and a lot rest and sleep are in order!"
With the height of the season approaching Wellens will have to sit out one of the most prestigious midweek events. He hopes to be back to full fitness though, in time for some even bigger races at the weekend.
"Ordinarily I would ride the Nacht van Woerden on Tuesday, but the doctor told me to stay totally inactive until Wednesday. First I need to get well and then race again.
“I hope that with enough rest I’ll get everything all together the big weekend of Zonhoven and the Koppenberg!"
Wellens lost much of last season to the after effects of Cytomegalovirus, a condition similar to mononucleosis; while his current condition is nothing like as serious, he will be anxious not to allow it to disrupt his calendar too much.