Update: 7:37am – Kiwi cyclist George Bennett is devastated at having to abandon the Tour de France because of ill health.
Bennett succumbed during the 16th stage to an illness which had bothered him on recent stages and turned into a fever, forcing into bed and unable to hold down food.
It ends a campaign which had lifted the 27-year-old to 12th in the overall standings.
Poised to finish as the best-placed New Zealander on general classification in the history of the Tour, Bennett was simply unable to stay on the pace on Tuesday.
“I felt weak, I am empty,” Bennet said.
“I was in pain in places I didn’t even know could hurt. It should have been an easy day to survive for me, but that was not the case. I felt like I sprinted all the way, but in reality, I almost went backwards.
“It is devastating to leave the Tour. It is one of the worst feelings for a bike racer.”
A winner of the Tour of California in May and a top-10 finisher on last year’s Tour of Spain, Bennett’s reputation was enhanced through the first two weeks of the famed French race.
He had climbed to as high as ninth through 10 stages and was targeting a move later this week in the French Alps to finish in the top 10.
LottoNL-Jumbo team sports director Nico Verhoeven says Bennett was desperately unlucky to have hit the wall with just five stages remaining.
“This morning the fever was gone and we decided to start. If you have an easy day, it is possible to survive. But today was a very tough day,” Verhoeven said.
“Right from the start, he was in trouble. He did not want to stop. He is a fighter and wants to continue but at a certain point you are just completely empty.”
Australian Michael Matthews won the 165km stage to Le Puy-en-Velay while Briton Chris Froome retains the overall lead.
The three other Kiwis remain in a field which has shrunk to 173.
Patrick Bevin (Cannondale-Drapac) is 104th, more than two hours behind defending champion Froome. Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors) is 111th and Dion Smith (Wanty- Groupe Gobert) 132nd.
-NewstalkZB
