‘Half the peloton is ill’: cowpats blamed as cyclists fall sick after race in Belgium

• Some riders hospitalised after Famenne Ardenne Classic

• Dung may have sprayed on to riders in wet conditions

Several cyclists, including riders due to start the Giro d’Italia on Friday, fell ill after a Belgian one-day race, with cow manure on the roads suspected to be the cause.

Three Lotto-Intermarché riders suffered from abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting, and were briefly hospitalised, the team said from Bulgaria, where the Giro begins on Friday.