Feverish end: Alberto Contador pulls out of Tour de France after fever on stage nine and earlier crashes
Two-time champion withdraws during toughest Pyreneand stage just 100km before the end of the race
Diminished by a fever and still reeling from crashes on the opening two days of the race, two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out of the Tour de France during the toughest Pyrenean stage on Sunday.
Slightly more than 100km from the end of stage nine from the Spanish town of Vielha to the ski resort of Arcalis in Andorra, the 33-year-old Spaniard stopped at the side of the road, hopped off his bike and got into the passenger seat of his team car.
“I could not keep going,” Contador later said at his team hotel. “This morning I had a fever. And I did not feel good since I crashed on the first day.”
Contador crashed in each of the opening stages – damaging his right shoulder, elbow and hip – and had already lost time on the other overall favourites.
He was in 20th position at the end of Saturday’s eighth stage – 3 minutes, 12 seconds behind leader Chris Froome.