Canadian veteran Ryder Hesjedal to miss out on 103rd Tour de France

TORONTO – Canadian Ryder Hesjedal will not take part in this year’s Tour de France.

The 35-year-old from Victoria, winner of the 2012 Giro D’Italia, was not included on the nine-man Trek-Segafredo team announced Monday.

A team spokesman told The Canadian Press by email that the team directors “decided these nine riders were the best possible selection to reach our team goals for this year’s TDF.”

Hesjedal tweeted a photo of him sitting on a beach under a palapa, saying “Recovery time! France in July wasn’t in the cards.”

Hesjedal pulled out of this year’s Giro due to pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx) and tracheitis (inflammation of the trachea). He later announced he was not going to race in the Rio Olympics.

He has said he plans to compete in several Canadian events this year, including the Quebec City-Montreal Grand Prix races, the Tour of Alberta and his hometown race, Ryder Hesjedal’s Tour of Victoria.

Dutch rider Bauke Mollema, seventh overall in last year’s Tour, and Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara lead the Trek-Segafredo team. They will be joined by Luxembourg’s Frank Schleck, American Peter Stetina, Spain’s Haimar Zubeldia and Markel Irizar, Belgium’s Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns, and Switzerland’s Gregory Rast.

Hesjedal finished sixth in the 2010 Tour de France. He was 40th in last year’s race, but finished third in the 20th stage on the historic Alpe d’Huez.

The 103rd edition of the Tour starts Saturday and wraps up 21 stages and 3,519 kilometres later on July 24.