Tsgabu Grmay (Trek-Segafredo) was forced to abandon the Tour de France on today’s second stage as he was suffering with intense abdominal pain.
“I cannot express how disappointed and sad I am to have to leave the Tour de France, my dream race, only after a few days already,” Grmay said afterwards. “I came here with the best preparation ever and was completely ready and willing to give it my all to support the team and especially Bauke once we would come to the mountains.
“This totally thwarts those plans, but today it was not possible to go on. I don’t have words to explain my feelings – I feel terrible about this. I want to wish my teammates success for the rest of the Tour.”
Team physician Ortwin Schäfer added: “Tsgabu reported some abdominal pain in the last days that we were able to control. Today, however, that pain got worse during the stage, to the point that it was not possible to continue anymore. He will undergo further examinations to figure out what’s going on.”
