John Degenkolb's preparations for the 2018 Spring Classics season hit a stumbling block on Thursday as he abandoned Paris-Nice due to bronchitis.
The 29-year-old Trek-Segafredo rider withdrew from the French race after stage five from Salon-de-Provence to Sisteron. He placed 130th on the stage in a group that came in over 11 minutes down on winner Jérôme Cousin (Direct Energie).
Trek-Segafredo announced Degenkolb's abandon via Twitter, saying: "Unfortunately @johndegenkolb suffers from bronchitis and won't take the start in stage 6 tomorrow."
Degenkolb himself said: "It was a difficult decision but I cannot take health risks now, with my big goals coming up. But no worries, I will be there to 'chase aces'."
On Monday, March 5, Degenkolb said on his own Twitter account that he was not happy with his performance on the opening two days of Paris-Nice, saying: "Honestly, I am not happy with the results of both stages, not at all. I was always ways too far behind in the final. We have to do much better tomorrow and the next few days."
Degenkolb has already taken two victories this season, claiming two wins in the four-race Challenge Mallorca in late January.
He won Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in a successful 2015 season, but could not defend either race in 2016 after being involved in a training incident where he was hit by a car and nearly lost one of his fingers.
>>> Paris-Nice 2018: Latest news, reports and race info
Degenkolb bounced back in 2017, with a strong of top 10 places in the Classics, including fifth in Ghent-Wevelgem, and seventh in both the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo.
With the flatter stages over, the remaining three stages of Paris-Nice are more for the climbers and general classification riders than sprinters.
Several other riders abandoned the race before or during stage five, including stage two winner Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo), French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and British rider Dan McLay (EF Education First-Drapac).
Currently, Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) leads Paris-Nice with a margin of 15 seconds over Team Sky's Wout Poels. The race concludes on Sunday, March 11.
Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
-
-
Wout Van Aert nearly 'goes to heaven' in training incident with cement mixer
The Jumbo-Visma star was besieged by worried messages – including one from his wife – fearing the worst
-
Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel take different roads to Tour of Flanders
The big three have slightly different ideas on how to prepare for De Ronde on Sunday
-
Closing the gap: David Gaudu emerges from Paris-Nice more confident than ever before
The Groupama-FDJ rider finished second overall at the Race to the Sun, but gained more than just the result
-
Goodbye lime: We need to talk about the Tour de France green jersey
There's change afoot at ASO's French races, with the combativity colour also undergoing a revamp
-
Andrei Kivilev remembered 20 years on from his death at Paris-Nice
Kazakh rider’s death during 2003 edition led to helmets being made obligatory in racing
-
Paris-Nice just first step on the road to Tour de France redemption for Tadej Pogačar
The UAE Team Emirates rider might have won the Race to the Sun but he is not taking anything for granted
-
Lefevere suggests UCI is 'short of cash' after fining Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step rails against the ruling body after his French team leader is penalised for removing his helmet while racing
-
Big two becomes big three as Gaudu joins Pogačar and Vingegaard at Paris-Nice
Tadej Pogačar might have won again, but it was close, and David Gaudu could yet win Paris-Nice
-
'It's likely to be very dangerous' - Inside Paris-Nice stage six, the race that never was
Friday's stage was first shortened to 80km, then called off completely thanks to "exceptionally violent winds"
-
‘Second is not bad but it’s the victories that count’ - Olav Kooij gets revenge at Paris-Nice
Jumbo-Visma rider overhauls Pedersen in reversal of stage two fortunes
