Grand Tour debut to come at the Vuelta in late August
French time trial champion, Jean-Christophe Peraud, will not be able to defend his French time trial championship and will also not be able to take part in his first Tour de France, according to L’Equipe.
The silver medallist in cross-country mountain biking at the 2008 Beijing Olympics spent some days in the hospital following his withdrawal from the Criterium du Dauphine after the time trial on Stage 3. It was found that Peraud was suffering from blood poisoning.
There was hope that the native of Toulouse, Peraud, would recover in time to not only defend his French national time trial jersey in Chantonnay, but also take part in his first ever start in the Tour de France. Unfortunately, improvements have been slow in coming, and Peraud’s Omega Pharma-Lotto team has taken him out of the running for both events.
Peraud, however, will still be able to take part in his first ever Grand Tour in 2010. He is now slated to start the Vuelta on August 28th.