Giulio Ciccone (Trek Segafredo) has decided to undergo nose surgery to improve his breathing.

After the 2020 season, the Italian said he finally found the time to go through with the surgery he had been planning for some time.

Ciccone suffers from a deviated septum, which causes the wall separating the two nasal passages to deviate from alignment and restrict breathing.

"Fine-tuning for 2021 continues. After years of waiting and postponement, I had a functional nasal septoplasty," Ciccone updated on social media from his hospital bed, along with a maxillofacial surgeon.

"My septum was completely deviated and my functionality was extremely reduced. If you don't see only pictures of my open mouth in the future, it will be because of Dr. Tito Marianetti. My endless thanks to him for his professionalism and helpfulness.

Ciccone, who won the season-opening Trofeo Reigeria, suffered from COVID-19 over the summer and left Trek Segafredo's training camp due to fatigue before testing positive on August 31.

He withdrew from Tirreno-Adriatico but returned to race the Giro d'Italia.

After winning a stage win and a mountains prize at the 2019 Giro and wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, Ciccone was forced to end his 2020 campaign on a sour note. His highlight since resuming was a fifth-place finish at Il Lombardia.

"It was a very troubled season for many reasons.

"I am very disappointed that I had to stop here and that I could not do what I could in this Giro. Disappointment is part of a rider's career and you have to accept it, but don't let it get you down. Right now I just want to think about recovering and in time we will make plans for the 2021 season."