June 2017: Greipel suffers stomach virus ahead of German Championships. He will be OK for Tour de France in July.
Lotto Soudal’s Andre Greipel was hit by a stomach virus last week while preparing himself for the upcoming Tour de France competition. The reigning German road champ’s health issue kept him away from training for more than 5 days, slowing his progress down.
However, Lotto Soudal’s doctor, Servaas Bingé admitted the Greipel’s condition not to be that bad to prevent him from participating on Tour de France. He said Greipel is already in a fine form and is ready to start training as normally.
“A virus is always unfortunate, but meanwhile things are going well with him,” – Bingé told Sporza. “He has been sick for a number of days, so we have to adjust his program,” Bingé said. “Last week he has ridden again as a build-up. His shape will be as it should be in the Tour.”
Greipel’s Promising results
In total, Griepel has 11 stage wins only in the Tour de France races, including his sole win in 2016 at the Champs-Elysees.
Only this season, Greipel has won 4 stages including the second stage at the Giro. He also won a stage at the Paris-Nice event and at the Volta ao Algarve. His first stage victory for this season is registered at the one-day Trofeo Porreres in Spain.
Greipel is scheduled to participate at this weekend’s German national championships, where he will vie for his fourth title! He got the previous ones in 2013, 2014 and 2016. “It’s to be expected and see how it’s going to go, but Andre is perfectly professional and he’s going to take responsibility,” – added Bingé. “If he has a chance, he’ll be there to go for it.”
