Simoni explains

Gilberto Simoni has explained his reasons for asking his Lampre-Caffita team to drop him from its line-up for the Tour de France: he is still tired from his efforts in the Giro d'Italia last month. Simoni spent the mountain stages of the Giro in an epic battle with Jose' Rujano (Selle Italia-Colombia) for the second spot on the podium.

"It's clear that I have muscular fatigue," Simoni told Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "Going to France would have been useless. It would have been a disaster for me."