No worries about sick Jasper Stuyven ahead of the opening weekend

Jasper Stuyven did not start the fourth stage of the Volta ao Algarve on Saturday. The Soudal Quick-Step rider is battling illness, just a week before the Flemish opening weekend. However, the team is not worried about their acquisition. Stuyven's withdrawal was taken as a precaution, the team told WielerFlits.

"Due to illness, Jasper Stuyven will not start in the fourth stage of the Volta ao Algarve. The Wolfpack wishes him a speedy recovery," Soudal Quick-Step posted on social media Saturday morning. Stuyven rode his first race kilometers of the season in the Portuguese stage race.

This is a major setback for Stuyven ahead of the Opening Weekend, scheduled for next week, but team director Iljo Keisse has no reasons to worry. "Stuyven arrived here with a cold," he told Het Laatste Nieuws from Portugal. "We hoped he could push through, but he developed a fever last night."

Recovering
"He will stay here in Portugal for two more days to recover. It's unfortunate, but maybe it's better that it happens now than next week. There is no concern about the Opening Weekend. A few more days of rest and hopefully he can rejoin during the reconnaissance."

The 33-year-old classics specialist – who has previously triumphed in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – is racing for Soudal Quick-Step this season after many years riding in support of Lidl-Trek and its predecessors.