Simoni explains

Gilberto Simoni has explained his reasons for asking his Lampre-Caffita team to drop him from its line-up for the Tour de France: he is still tired from his efforts in the Giro d'Italia last month. Simoni spent the mountain stages of the Giro in an epic battle with Jose' Rujano (Selle Italia-Colombia) for the second spot on the podium.

"It's clear that I have muscular fatigue," Simoni told Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "Going to France would have been useless. It would have been a disaster for me."

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1