Professional Cycling For the Fans - Virus Kills Team Sky Masseur

Tragic news from the Vuelta Espana.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/cycling/7980903/Vuelta-a-Espana-2010-virus-kills-Team-Sky-masseur-Txema-Gonzales.html

Tragic, hope his family is ok.

Terrible thing. Unfortunate that the infection progressed so quickly, and that the hospital wasn't able to save him.

However, per the story you linked:

A separate bacterial infection – and not the virus that has been sweeping through Team Sky competing the Vuelta Espana all weekK appears to have been the cause of the sudden shocking death of their Spanish soigneur Txema Gonzales.


Bacterial infection, which led to sepsis, not the virus that had affected so many of the riders.

Team Sky withdrew from Vuelta as a mark of respect for Txema Gonzales this morning.

Nice to see a team withdrawing from a grand tour for a reason other than a doping positive.

Very sad...sepsis is quite hard to treat and can damage a great deal of the body in a very, very short time.

Team Sky withdrew from Vuelta as a mark of respect for Txema Gonzales this morning.

Nice to see a team withdrawing from a grand tour for a reason other than a doping positive.

i understand what you mean...but there's nothing "nice" about a team withdrawing because of a death.

Team Sky withdrew for other reasons as well. If they were healthy, and not having so much trouble with the virus, I doubt the team would have withdrawn. It was an excuse for them to bail from the Vuelta without the potential vitriol and blowback from the ASO, which runs the grand tours.