Contador pulls out of 2016 Tour de France, blames virus

Spain’s Alberto Contador, left, strains as he rides in the back of the pack with France’s Nicolas Edet, right, during the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 184.5 kilometers (114.3 miles) with start in Vielha Val d’Aran, Spain, and finish in Andorra Arcalis, Andorra, Sunday, July 10, 2016. AP Photo/Christophe Ena

ARCALIS, Andorra — Diminished by a fever and still reeling from crashes on the opening two days of the race, two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out of the Tour de France during the toughest Pyrenean stage on Sunday.

Slightly more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the end of Stage 9 from the Spanish town of Vielha to the ski resort of Arcalis in Andorra, the 33-year-old Spaniard stopped at the side of the road, hopped off his bike and got into the passenger seat of his team car.

Contador crashed in each of the opening stages — damaging his right shoulder, elbow and hip — and had lost time on the other overall favorites.

He was in 20th position at the end of Saturday’s eighth stage, 3 minutes, 12 seconds behind leader Chris Froome.

During Sunday’s stage, Contador dropped back to his team car four times before finally withdrawing.

He had started the stage in a bright fashion, though, attacking alongside fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde to catch a group of early breakaway riders on the first climb.

But Contador could not continue his effort and was quickly brought back by the pack before he pulled out in the climb at Port del Canto. He then handed his bike to a mechanic and waved to TV cameras as he exited the race that made him famous.

“Alberto had a bit of fever this morning,” Sean Yates, the sporting director of Contador’s Tinkoff team, said just before the withdrawal. “He told us at the beginning of the race that he wasn’t feeling super and it’s obvious.”

The withdrawal occurred on Contador’s home roads near the town of Vilamur in Spain.

“It’s bad news for me,” said Tinkoff team owner Oleg Tinkov, who is planning to leave the sport. “It was my last try to win the Tour de France. But who knows, maybe I’ll come back in a few years.”

Contador, who won cycling’s showpiece race in 2007 and 2009, had made the Tour de France his main goal of the season, skipping the Giro to focus on the Tour.

Contador was stripped of the 2010 Tour title and was suspended for two years after testing positive for the banned steroid clenbuterol in the final week of the race. He was among the three pre-race favorites alongside defending champion Chris Froome and Colombian climber Nairo Quintana.