Frenchman too fatigued to carry on
John Gadret did not start Wednesday’s eleventh stage of the Tour de France, citing fatigue as his reason. The AG2R La Mondiale started the Tour following a successful Giro d’Italia where he won a stage and finished fourth overall.
In contrast to that performance, Gadret has struggled so far in the French race and has been seen dangling off the back of the peloton for several days. He was lying in 66th place overall, trailing the yellow jersey of Thomas Voeckler by 25’09”. The Frenchman finished close to last in yesterday’s stage won by Andre Greipel, rolling in in 171sth place.
“John chose not to take the start of the stage today,” said AG2R La Mondiale manager Vincent Lavenu.
“He is tired physically and psychologically. He does not feel he can and does not wish to continue. We obviously tried to encourage him to wait a little longer but it’s too hard for him. We can only try to help but he is the only one who really know how he feels.”
It’s been reported that Gadret was reluctant to start the Tour because of the brutal route the riders faced at the Giro d’Italia this year. He was concerned about recovering in time. Days before the race started, his team announced that he would be lining up in his home tour.
It’s the second time that Gadret has not made it to Paris. He quit the 2008 event on stage seven.
He achieved his best result in the race last year when he finished 19th overall. It was not without controversy though as team-mate Nicolas Roche was designated team captain. Gadret refused to give his wheel to Roche when he punctured at a pivotal part in the race, costing him a possible top-twelve finish. Roche ended up 15th in Paris. The two have since made up and have co captained AG2R – La Mondiale this year.