Four Team BikeExchange riders abandoned the Tour de Suisse ahead of stage 6 owing to gastroenteritis.
The team announced on Friday that Lucas Hamilton, Luke Durbridge, Amund Grøndahl Jansen and Jack Bauer were unable to start due to illness.
“Unfortunately Lucas Hamilton, Luke Durbridge & Amund Grøndahl Jansen will not start today’s stage 6 of the Tour de Suisse due to gastroenteritis problems overnight. The riders will take some days of rest in order to recover for the upcoming races,” the team wrote on social media
The team later added that Bauer had also withdrawn: “Unfortunately Jack Bauer is also a non-starter on today’s stage for the same reasons.”
Hamilton was lying sixth overall after placing fourth on Thursday’s mountainous stage to Leukerbad. The Australian is expected to start with a leadership role for BikeExchange at the Tour de France, while Simon Yates will target stage victories as he builds towards the Olympics.
Three BikeExchange riders remain in action at the Tour de Suisse: Michael Matthews, Dion Smith and Esteban Chaves, who was on the offensive on stage 5. The Colombian lies eighth overall following Hamilton’s withdrawal.
“We had some issues with the guys,” Chaves said at the start of stage 6. “I have two riders still with me and all the team behind, the staff, the mechanics.
“We’re still working. I have people around helping me and we will try to do the best we can with the guys who are here.”
