The 35-year-old, nicknamed 'Spartacus', is the second high-profile rider to pull out of the Tour in two days after British sprinter Mark Cavendish withdrew on Tuesday to focus on his bid for a first Olympic medal.
“This was not an easy decision to take, but I feel it is the right one,” said Cancellara in a statement released by his Trek team.
“I don't like withdrawing from a race, especially not when our GC leader (Bauke Mollema) is in second place at four days from Paris.
“With some really hard stages ahead of us my support would naturally be more limited so we took the decision together to withdraw. It was a hard Tour for me — a lot of stress and I feel tired. If I want to be good at the Olympics I need rest.”
It was a sad end for Cancellara who was riding in his last Tour de France, especially since it visited his homeland this year, with stage 16 on Monday finishing just a few miles from his home.
“The Tour has given me a lot in the last 12 years and I don't say this lightly,” he added.
“I gave a lot of thought to this decision to withdraw from the race. Today was very emotional for me – more than I expected it to be.
“Right now knowing that these were my last kilometers in the Tour de France is hard.”
CYCLING
Swiss rider quits Tour to focus on Olympics
Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara quit the Tour de France on Wednesday at the end of the 17th stage to concentrate on his bid for an Olympic Games gold medal.
CYCLING
Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland
Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.
Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.
He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.
But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.
“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”
“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.
🙏🏻 Gino, thank you for the light, the joy, and the laughs you brought us all, we will miss you as a rider and as a person.
❤️ Today and every day, we ride for you, Gino.
🔗 https://t.co/CSx5BsWfRz pic.twitter.com/caBmfmWwyg
— Team Bahrain Victorious (@BHRVictorious) June 16, 2023
Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.
American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.
On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.
“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.
“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”
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