Cycling-Evenepoel out of Giro d'Italia with COVID

"It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that I will be leaving the Giro d'Italia due to COVID-19 after taking a routine test, which unfortunately was positive," Evenepoel, who had regained the Maglia Rosa by winning Sunday's individual time trial, said in a statement. The new race leader is Britain's Geraint Thomas, who had finished stage nine one second behind the Belgian, who won two stages and wore the Maglia Rosa four times.

(Recasts with Evenepoel out with COVID-19) May 14 (Reuters) -

World champion Remco Evenepoel abandoned the Giro d'Italia with COVID-19 shortly after he regained the race lead with victory in a rain-affected 35-km individual time trial on Sunday. "It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that I will be leaving the Giro d'Italia due to COVID-19 after taking a routine test, which unfortunately was positive," Evenepoel, who had regained the Maglia Rosa by winning Sunday's individual time trial, said in a statement.

The new race leader is Britain's Geraint Thomas, who had finished stage nine one second behind the Belgian, who won two stages and wore the Maglia Rosa four times. Three-time Vuelta champion Primoz Roglic is second overall, two seconds behind with Thomas's Ineos-Grenadiers team mate Tao Geoghegan Hart in third place, five seconds off the pace.

Ineos Grenadiers were without two-time time trial world champion Filippo Ganna after the Italian tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of stage eight. Monday is a rest day on the Giro. Tuesday's stage 10 is a 196-km ride from Scandiano to Viareggio, which features a long climb before a fast-running and technical descent.