André Greipel has abandoned the Tour de France 2020.
The Israel Start-Up Nation rider stepped off the bike after around 40km of racing on stage 18, during a savage day of mountain racing.
German sprinting star Greipel has been battling hard to make it through the Tour’s toughest mountains, finishing stage 17 to Col de la Loze 32 minutes behind the stage winner, just a few minutes before the time cut off.
But as the peloton another huge day of climbing on stage 18 to La-Roche-sur-Foron, which includes five categorised ascents, Greipel had to give up the race.
The 38-year-old, an 11-time Tour de France stage winner, abandoned the race during the first climb of the day, the 19.3km-long, six per cent average Cormet de Roselend.
Greipel, who joined new WorldTour team Start-Up Nation at the start of the season, hasn’t won a Tour stage since 2016, and looked to be off the pace early in the 2020.
After crashing on the opening stage and not finishing in the top 100 in the opening nine stages, Greipel then found his legs for stage nine in the crosswinds to Île de Ré, fighting his way to sixth place in the sprint finish as Sam Bennett (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) took the win.
Greipel left Lotto-Soudal in 2018 to step down to Professional Continental level with Arkéa-Samsic, but after suffering from illness he left the team before the end of the season, bringing his contract to a premature end.
News then emerged Greipel would be returning to the highest level as Israel Cycling Academy merged with Katusha-Alpecin to become a WorldTour team.
>>> Who’s out of the Tour de France 2020?
Greipel is the 27th rider to leave the Tour and will miss out on the last sprint opportunities of the race, including the prestigious Champs Élysées stage, which he has won on two previous occasions during his 15-year longcareer.
Alex is the digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter and now as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output.
Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) and joining CW in 2018, Alex has covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.
Away from journalism, Alex is a national level time triallist, avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.
-
-
Training through the pain
It’s a universal truth in cycling: when the hard effort hurts too much, we back off and slow down. But can we train our ability to tolerate pain? Steve Shrubsall finds out
-
11 alternative kits with more flair than (most of) the WorldTour would know what to do with
Gravel, crit, and amateur teams have some of the best kits (fact)
-
André Greipel announces retirement at end of season
The German calls time on 16 years at the top level
-
Michael Woods leads team at Tour de France but says 'I don't deserve to be in the conversation for the win'
The Canadian has been one of the best climbers this season but his time trial form has let him down
-
Dan Martin confirmed for Israel Start-Up Nation's 2021 Tour de France squad
The Irishman joins Froome and Woods in the team after racing a strong Giro d'Italia
-
Chris Froome to ride the Tour de France 2021
The Briton will return to the race after a two-edition absence
-
'Mortifying, inevitable, exciting': Cycling Weekly readers react to Chris Foome leaving Team Ineos
The cycling world has been focused on the news that Chris Froome will be leaving Team Ineos.
-
‘You need a big leader to elevate a team, and Chris Froome is a beast,’ says Sean Yates
There are few people in professional cycling with the knowledge and experience of Sean Yates, both on and off the bike.
-
'His old team will be his biggest rival' - Cycling world reacts as Chris Froome will leave Team Ineos for Israel Start-Up Nation
The rumours that Chris Froome is leaving Team Ineos have been confirmed, as the British Grand Tour star is heading to Israel Start-Up Nation next season.
-
Chris Froome signs with Israel Start-Up Nation
Chris Froome has officially signed with Israel Start-Up Nation.
