Mickael Cherel ruled out of 2017 Tour de France

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Mikaël Chérel will have an extended stay on the sidelines with a hairline fracture to his pelvis ruling the AG2R-La Mondiale rider out of the Tour de France. The Frenchman sustained the injury at a training camp in the Sierra Nevada ad was originally ruled out of this week's Criterium du Dauphine.

AG2R-La Mondiale has since confirmed Cherel will miss July's Tour de France in a blow to the overall aspirations to team leader Romain Bardet. Chérel was a key rider in setting up Bardet's stage 19 win at last year's Tour which helped the Frenchman climb into second place overall.

"I tried riding the bike for a few meters just to test it, but the resulting pain quickly brought me back to my senses," Chérel said. "I am disappointed but I will be very motivated to prepare for the races at the end of the season."

The team release stated x-ray's revealed Chérel sustained the "fracture of the pelvis at the iliac pubic junction".

Chérel previously fractured his pelvis when he crashed on on the Champs-Élysées during final stage of his Tour debut in 2012. He was able to finish the stage and placed 62nd in the general classification. 

The 31-year-old joined AG2R La Mondiale from FDJ at the start of the 2011 season and has become a key domestique for Bardet, riding the last three Tour's in support of his teammate. Starting his 2017 season with sixth place at GP la Marseillaise, and has had a similar race programme to Bardet.

For the Tour de France, Bardet is likely to be able to call upon Mathias Frank, Pierre Latour, and Alexis Vuillermoz in the high mountains with the team to be finalised following the Criterium du Dauphine and Tour de Suisse.