The Vuelta a España peloton is down to 179 riders on stage 5 after Daan Hoole tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The Trek-Segafredo neo-pro was in the midst of his debut Grand Tour in Spain before he fell ill in the morning, suffering a sore throat.
His team reported before the stage start that Hoole had tested positive for the virus in a rapid test and has since left the race. His withdrawal, the third of the race, means that Trek-Segafredo are down to seven riders, including leaders Mads Pedersen and Juan Pedro López.
"He's done a fantastic job in the opening days but unfortunately Daan Hoole will not start La Vuelta 2022 stage 5," Trek-Segafredo announced on social media.
"Daan woke up with a slightly sore throat this morning and a subsequent rapid COVID-19 test returned a positive result. Get well soon Daan. We will miss you."
Hoole's withdrawal comes off the back of several days working for former world champion Pedersen, who has finished second on stages 2, 3 and 4 and is now in the running for the green points jersey.
The team is seeking stage wins at the Vuelta as well as a strong general classification result for López, who finished 10th at May's Giro d'Italia having held the maglia rosa for 10 days along the way.
The positive test is the first of the race, with Burgos-BH duo Manuel Peñalver and Angel Madrazo and AG2R Citroën's Dorian Godon having tested positive before the start. At July's Tour de France there were 17 positive tests in the peloton, leading to just 135 riders making the finish in Paris.
The Vuelta peloton, as well as team staff, UCI staff, and anti-doping personnel, are subject to the same anti-COVID measures that the UCI put in place for the Tour de France. These include testing prior to the race start, antigen testing on the rest days, and confirmatory PCR tests to be assessed by team, UCI, and race doctors.
Hoole joins Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) and Steff Cras (Lotto Soudal) as just the third rider to abandon the race following the start in Utrecht last Friday.
