Petacchi abandons Tour de San Luis

Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi abandoned his first race of 2014 with Omega Pharma-QuickStep, the Tour de San Luis, on the race's opening stage, a 166.2km stage from San Luis to Villa Mercedes, contested in searing heat. 

The 40-year-old was hit by an intestinal virus and was undecided for the start of today's stage. As the race got underway, the fever and abdominal pain led him to abandon.

The Omega Pharma-QuickStep team will continue to be represented in the race by Mark Cavendish, Tom Boonen, Stijn Vandenbergh, Guillaume Van Keirsbulck and Gianluca Brambilla.