Cavendish diagnosed with Epstein-Barr
 

Ran across another article about it:

Rogers: I'm sure Cavendish will be back to his best soon | Cyclingnews.com

I didn't think that Epstein-Barr could be managed. I guess it can (or it doesn't affect the rider for a long time). I recall a guy that I used to ride with back in high school having the same thing. He ended up leaving bike racing after his diagnosis. It was a shame since he was a good rider (cat 2, if I recall at the time).

Mono?

Apparently it often is quite mild, but at times can be very severe. If it was just a "cold", we probably wouldn't be hearing about it. So, he could well be out for the year. But, hopefully back next year.

Rogers mentioned that he was knocked out for half of a season because of Epstein-Barr. So I guess its all over the place as far as severity goes.

Several name athletes have dealt with E-Bover the years, and managed it so they could come back competitively. It seems that the ones that keep pushing and don't take the steps necessary to completely get over the stuff are the ones that it permanently retires.

When I was active with motocross and off-road motorcycling it seemed each year a few of the pros would be sidelined with it. Or, one that had been in a long "slump" would finally be diagnosed with E-B. I've heard of pros in several sports coming down with it, as well as college athletes, or even run of the mill high schoolers getting diagnosed. Its supposed to make mono seem like a light head cold, as I understand it.

Bill