If you\u2019ve been watching the Tour de France, you\u2019ll have noticed Arnaud De Lie was having a helluva time in the first three days. Unfortunately, Monday will be his last stage of the Tour.<\/p>\n
As the former pro (sort of) and Tour de France stage winner, Mike Woods once said, \u201ccycling is a cruel, cruel sport.\u201d And he\u2019s certainly right\u2013when things are up, golden, when it\u2019s not, it\u2019s not very not fun.<\/p>\n
Stage 3<\/p>\n
The Belgian star abandoned the race during Stage 3, still struggling with the after-effects of a stomach infection. It was clear that he had been in rough shape. He had already lost 2:33 in the TTT<\/a>\u2013sure, that may have been part of the plan to be the first man out in the special format which makes everyone but the leader essentially a leadout man. But, the Lotto-Intermarch\u00e9 rider entered the Tour under difficult circumstances after falling ill in the days leading up to the Grand D\u00e9part.<\/p>\n Sickness completely screwed up his preparation. It forced him to miss key team training camps and left him below full fitness for the world\u2019s biggest bike race. It\u2019s hard enough at the Tour when you\u2019ve done everything right.<\/p>\n Suffering from the start<\/p>\n De Lie got through the opening two stages but was visibly off the pace. During Stage 3, he was dropped from the peloton early and rode alone for much of the day before deciding to climb into the team car.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is, of course, a huge disappointment because I worked for months to be ready for the Tour and dreamed of competing in the sprint stages,\u201d De Lie said to Het Nieuwsblad<\/a>. \u201cI gave everything in the first two stages, but today I just didn\u2019t have the legs to continue, especially in the extreme heat.\u201d<\/p>\n The 24-year-old said his priority is now to recover fully and target the remainder of the season. It marks the second Grand Tour this year that illness has forced him to leave early. He also quit the Giro d\u2019Italia because of a virus.<\/p>\n Stage 3 of the Tour de France<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Tadej Poga\u010dar took his 22nd career Tour de France stage dub with a powerful late attack on the uphill finish at Les Angles as the race crossed from Spain into France. The Slovenian edged Jonas Vingegaard by two seconds to take the yellow jersey, although the pair remained the same on overall time.<\/p>\n