Carapaz knocked out of Tour de France with stomach bug

"Last week, he began experiencing abdominal pain and a high fever," said his team EF on their website.

"(Doctors) have advised against long-haul travel and competition at this time. As a result, Richard will not take part in this year's Tour de France."

Carapaz finished third in the Giro d'Italia earlier in June and would have led the EF Pro Cycling team in the Tour, which starts on July 5.

"We're all gutted for Richard," said Jonathan Vaughters, the EF chief. "He came out of the Giro with amazing form.

"He sacrificed a lot to get to that level, so the timing really couldn't be worse. We know how much the Tour means to him, so to lose him this close to the race is a real blow."

Carapaz, the 2020 Olympic champion and 2019 Giro winner, won the climbing and combativity prizes in last year's Tour de France.

The team said that the 32-year-old "will take a few weeks off to let his body fully recover" and then shift his focus to the least prestigious of the Grand Tours starting on August 23.

"His goal? Win the Vuelta a Espana," said the team.