Sacha Modolo (EF Education First) is relieved to have found a cure for his health problems, but thinks finding a team for 2020 will be more difficult. He finished second in the sprint at La Route d'Occitanie and has also placed at Adriatica Ionica and the Tour de Pollogne, but he is running out of races where he can show his stuff.

With several Pro Continental teams disbanding at the end of 2019, WorldTour teams are signing younger riders to save salaries and prepare for the future. Modolo is 32 years old, but is confident he can still succeed as a sprinter.

Modolo will become a father in late October and admits that he has never been happier in his personal life. But his professional career has been hanging by a thread for the past two seasons, ruined by a debilitating intestinal fungus that has made it difficult for him to even climb a flight of stairs.

Three rounds of powerful antibiotics and a special diet brought him back to health, but the lack of results has kept him out of the 2020 EF Education First and interest from other teams in the tight transfer market has so far been minimal.

"I seem to have been forgotten by everyone," Modolo told Cycling News from the Tour of Britain. [In 2017, I finished sixth in the Tour of Flanders, won a stage at the Giro d'Italia, and was always competitive in the sprints. But for two seasons I've struggled to understand what's wrong with me.

"I'm on my way to a full recovery and I'm confident I'll be back to my best in 2020. I just need a chance to prove them wrong."

"I'm not going to let them get away with this.

Modolo's last win was at Ruta del Sol in 2018. He then struggled to finish races and compete in sprints until a renowned specialist, who also successfully treated Barcelona soccer player Lionel Messi, finally diagnosed his problem this spring and explained how to recover.

"I was running fine until the 2018 Giro, when I thought something was wrong, but then I started feeling worse and worse. At the beginning of the year, I was having a hard time even going for a walk with my wife, and at the end of the day I was tired to death," Modolo explained.

"After the Tour of Flanders, it was confirmed that I was gluten intolerant. I changed my diet and started the Giro d'Italia, but soon I was on my hands and knees. That's when I visited Dr. Juliano Poser, who works with Messi. His diagnosis confirmed that he had five different types of fungi in his intestines. He told me that he had been suffering from fungal infections for at least three years.

Even with specialized treatment, it will take time for Modolo to get back to his best, he said. But still, the Italian hopes he can get there after the offseason.

"He was prescribed three different antibiotics for 16 days. He also needs to be on a special diet for a few months. Dr. Poser says he needs six months to fully recover. I am already feeling better, but I lack solid form and base.

"No one knew about my problem and neither I nor EF Education First talked about it much. I was afraid they would think I was just looking for excuses," Modolo admitted.

"But I'm confident I can get back to my best in 2020. I'm not old anymore and I'm not a past athlete. I am confident that with a good winter training I will be strong and successful again."

"I would gladly accept a one-year contract to prove what I can do. I just need someone who believes in me."