German cyclist Marcel Kittel to miss Tour de France
Last Updated: 25/06/15 2:07pm
Marcel Kittel, winner of the first yellow jersey in the last two Tours de France, will not be riding in this year's race.
The German sprinter has grabbed the headlines in the last two Tours with victories in four stages to challenge Mark Cavendish's status as the world's premier sprinter.
But the 27-year-old will have to contend with watching the race that gets going on July 4 after not being selected by his Giant-Alpecin team who announced their squad on Thursday.
Kittel has been hampered by illness this year and though "good progess" has been made, he has been allocated an alternative racing progamme.
"Of course I am disappointed about not participating in the Tour de France this year," Kittel said on his team's website.
"But I will have to look ahead and focus on new goals."
German sprinter John Degenkolb will lead the team for the Tour, which kicks off in Utrecht, with his focus on obtaining good results in reduced sprints.
Warren Barguil could be vying for a high overall placing and will be joined by Georg Preidler, Ramon Sinkeldam, Roy Curvers, Koen de Kort, Albert Timmer, Tom Dumoulin and Simon Geschke in the squad.
