A true plague of infections wreaks havoc in the professional peloton, as every single day bring news about several rider being forced to withdraw from competition due to illness. After we have informed about Carlos Betancur (AG2R La Mondiale) having been pulled out of Volta a Catalunya due to fever, it occurs that Matteo Trentin and Mark Renshaw will not participate in the E3 Harelbeke coming Friday, what will significantly weaken the Omega Pharma-Quick Step roster for a praised classic.

According to Cyclingnews, tough weather conditions during the Milano-Sanremo last Sunday forced many riders to take a short break from competition in order to regain strength and were a reason of malaise which has stricken Trentin and Renshaw.

"Trentin had fever. These guys have swallowed a lot of dirty stuff. As precaution we're not letting them race on Friday," Omega Pharma Quick Step director sportif Wilfried Peeters told Cyclingnews on Wednesday.

Under such circumstances, the Omega Pharma-Quick Step roster for E3 Harelbeke consists of:

Tom Boonen, Iljo Keisse, Zdenek Stybar, Niki Terpstra, Nikolas Maes, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Stijn Vandenbergh and Martin Velits.