Cunego out of Olympics

Italian Damiano Cunego has elected to miss the Beijing Olympics having not fully recovered from the effects of a crash sustained on stage 18 of the Tour de France. Cunego raced the Clásica San Sebastián on Saturday but couldn't follow the favourites on the category one climb of Alto de Jaizkibel, eventually finishing 36th, 9'34 down on the winner.

"The effects of the bad crash at the Tour didn't go away," said the Lampre rider. "During the race I had bad feelings when the road became tough. When the effort was intense I felt the symptoms I had already felt during long training rides, those of respiratory problems and headache."

After the race Cunego talked with Italian national selector France Ballerini, and a decision was taken to withdraw him from the Italian Olympic team. He will now meet with Lampre's team doctor for further medical checks and attempt to take something from the remainder of the season.