Top contender Schleck out of Tour de France

YELLOW jersey contender Andy Schleck has pulled out of this year’s Tour de France due to injuries suffered in last week’s Criterium du Dauphine race, according to his family.

Schleck was among the favourites for the 98th edition, which will begin in Liege, in Belgium, on June 30 and end in Paris on July 22, but he will take no part after being diagnosed with a pelvis fracture in recent days.

The RadioShack climbing specialist, who has finished runner-up three times in the world’s premier cycling event, had recently been crowned the 2010 champion after the disqualification of Alberto Contador of Spain for doping offences.

Schleck’s joy at finally securing the yellow jersey was, however, tempered by the injuries he suffered during a crash last Thursday in the Criterium, an eight-day race which is a major tune-up for the Tour de France.

During a 53km time trial a strong gust of wind literally picked Schleck and his bike up off the ground and dumped him at the side of the road.

Schleck continued but complained of leg and back pain and, despite beginning Saturday’s sixth and penultimate stage, he pulled out after 63km.

“He couldn’t pedal any more,” RadioShack sporting director Alain Gallopin told the race’s website. “Since he crashed during the time trial, the whole right side of his body was hurting.”

Schleck returned to Luxembourg on Saturday and underwent scans at the beginning of the week, which revealed the extent of his injuries.

It will be the first time the 27year-old Schleck misses the race since he made his debut in 2008 with CSC. But it will be seen by many as the nadir to a season which has been one of Schleck’s worst to date.

Schleck abandoned a number of top stage races, such as ParisNice, the Tour of Catalunya and the Dauphine, that would have been key to building his form for the Tour, and he has complained of ill health.

At the end of last month he cut short a training camp on some key stages of the Tour de France to have treatment for three days at a clinic in Basel, Switzerland, on a troublesome knee. Sapa-AFP