Gaviria withdraws from Tour of Britain

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Colombian Fernando Gaviria did not take the start for stage 5 of the Tour of Britain this morning. His Etixx-QuickStep team explained that the stagiaire, who pulled off an impressive sprint victory over quadruple Tour de France stage winner Andre Greipel on stage 4, was experiencing knee pain.

The 21-year-old is said to have "pre-patellar friction syndrome in his right knee" and will need a rest, according to the team.

"This problem can come up either after a trauma like a fall, or from overuse, as in Fernando's case," team doctor Yvan Vanmol said. "Fernando is a young rider who is measuring himself against certain distances, and with a professional pace for the first time. This is why, as a precautionary measure, we decided to not let him start and give him time to recuperate 100 percent. In the next few days we will evaluate if and when Fernando will be able to race from here to the end of the season, without any risk."

Gaviria, now racing as a trainee, signed a two-year contract earlier this summer with Etixx-Quickstep after catching the eye of the team by winning two stages at the Tour de San Luis in January. In his first race with the team, the Czech Cycling Tour, he won the second stage and led the race for a day.