Having made his season début with a seventh place in the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise in France on January 30, and prior to travelling to the Tour Méditerranéen, Riccò was admitted to hospital in Pavullo nel Frignano on February 6, with his father Rubinho stating that his son had apparent "kidney failure" and a body temperature of 104 °F ; he was later transferred to a hospital in Modena.