John Degenkolb has lost his lead-out man in the Vuelta a Espana. Koen De Kort has abandoned the race due to an infection.

Sadly Koen De Kort has had to withdraw from La Vuelta on stage 18 due to a fever caused by an infection resulting from a saddle sore. De Kort started the 18th stage after the fever had subsided this morning, but was still suffering on the bike and together with the team’s medical experts he decided to call it a day after around 20km of racing.

“I had a saddle sore for the past few days but yesterday it got a lot worse and it got infected,” said De Kort after stepping off the bike. “The infection led to a real high fever last night and I could barely move – I couldn’t even get down for dinner. I had a bad night’s sleep but the fever had gone down so after some checks with the team’s medical staff I was given the all clear to start the stage.

“On the bike through I didn’t feel good and the pain was too much. If it was just saddle sore I could ride through it but I couldn’t carry on. I’m sad to leave the race but wish the guys good luck for the last few days.”

Anko Boelens, Team Giant-Shimano medial staff, also said: “A few days ago he developed a saddle sore and then yesterday this developed into a fever. We monitored this and then this morning he felt better and the fever had dropped, so after a few tests we decided that he could start the stage. Unfortunately the pain was still too much and so we took the decision that he should step off the bike.”