Cycling: Tirreno-Adriatico, one of the spring stage races, starts on Wednesday. However, the top-class field of drivers had to accept two prominent cancellations today. In addition to overall favorite Froome, top sprinter Marcel Kittel also has to pass.
This morning Chris Froome announced via Twitter that he will not start at Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday as previously announced. He is suffering from an infection that makes it impossible for the 2013 tour winner to start. "I'm still not well, so I can't make it to Tirreno-Adriatico. The disappointment is great, but health comes first,' the Brit tweeted. Instead of Froome, Kanstantsin Siutsou will now start for Team Sky.
The German sprint hope Marcel Kittel will also not be able to start in the Italian stage race. This was surprisingly announced by his team Giant-Alpecin. After the 26-year-old Thuringian had started the season very successfully with a win in the prologue of the Tour Down Under, things didn't really go smoothly afterwards. "I got a virus after the Tour Down Under and to be honest I've never really recovered from it," such smock. Although he competed in the Tour of Qatar, his performances were surprisingly poor - now he offers a possible explanation: “I felt good enough to start in Qatar, but after that I felt worse and worse every day. Together with the team I have now decided to take a break […] Of course I'm disappointed. But my health and my form are top priorities for the moment – the season is long.”