Richard Carapaz, who finished third at the Giro d'Italia earlier this month, will miss the Tour de France due to a stomach infection, his team EF Education-EasyPost said Saturday.
Carapaz, a Tokyo Olympics gold medalist who won the mountains classification at last year's Tour de France, had abdominal pain and a high fever and was advised by doctors to avoid long-haul travel and competition, the team said in a statement.
"It's with great sadness that I have to tell you that a gastrointestinal infection is forcing me to miss the Tour de France," Carapaz wrote in Spanish on Instagram. "Not the best news, but health always comes first. Thank you all for your messages and support."
Carapaz, 32, will take a few weeks off to recover before resuming his training with a focus on the Vuelta a Espana, which starts in August, his team said.
The Tour de France begins July 5 in Lille and concludes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 27.