Dan Martin to miss Tour de France

Although he won a stage last year and looked set for a top 10 overall until he became sick, Dan Martin has confirmed that he has decided to miss this year's Tour de France.

The Irish professional crashed out on stage one of the Giro d’Italia on May 9th and while his fractured collarbone has healed, he is yet to resume racing. As a result he believes it is better to focus more on the Vuelta a España in August and September, plus a bid to win the world championships.

“For me, I prefer to be 100 percent ready for the next Grand Tour I do. I wasn’t ready in time to do the Tour de Suisse, so I wouldn’t have had a big race before the Tour,” Martin told the Irish Times yesterday.

“I think I am quite fit now but I am not anywhere near good enough to be contesting stages or whatever at the Tour. It is better just to refocus and rather than rush into something, really give myself time to prepare properly for the Vuelta.”

Martin will ride the Irish national road race championships on Sunday, then compete in the Tour of Austria and Tour of Poland prior to the start of the Vuelta a España in Jerez de la Frontera on August 23rd.

Meanwhile, Lampre-Merida rider Diego Ulissi, who won two stages at this year's Giro d'Italia, has failed a drugs test taken during the race.

The 24-year-old Italian tested positive for an “abnormal” amount of salbutamol, a drug used for breathing disorders such as asthma.

Ulissi had declared and been permitted to use Ventolin, which contains salbutamol, Lampre-Merida stated. He has been suspended by his team pending the analysis of his B sample.