 Simoni had been tipped to lead the Lampre-Caffita team |
Former Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni has pulled out of this year's Tour de France because of fatigue. The Italian had been tipped to head up the Lampre-Caffita team following team-mate Damiano Cunego's withdrawal with a virus.
But Simoni told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport: "It's clear that I have muscular fatigue.
"Going to France would have been useless, it would have been a disaster for me."
The Tour, cycling's blue-riband event, begins on Saturday.
MMIX
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