L'ALPE D'HUEZ, France (Reuters) - Last year's runner-up Rigoberto Uran abandoned the Tour de France before the start of the 12th stage on Thursday after failing to recover from injuries sustained in a crash last Sunday.
"I didn't recover after the crash. Yesterday in the first real climb, all day, there was pain in my body," said the Colombian leader of the EF Education First-Drapac team, who crashed on the cobbles in the ninth stage. "The most important thing is the rider's health," said the team's head sport director Charly Wegelius. "Rigo hasn't recovered from his crash on the cobbled stage, and his position on the bike is compromised and could create further issues down the line.
"We along with Rigo felt it best to pull out of the Tour this morning so he can recover and look toward the remainder of the season." Uran had been lying 30th overall, 31 minutes and three seconds off the pace. Thursday's stage is a 175.5-km ride from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to L'Alpe d'Huez.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ian Chadband)