German Kittel ruled out of Tour de France (Reuters)

German sprinter Marcel Kittel will not take part in the Tour de France after failing to fully recover from a virus, his Giant-Alpecin team said on Thursday. “The team decided that Kittel’s basic fitness is still not sufficient to compete in the Tour de France,” the Dutch team said in a statement as they unveiled their nine-man squad for the July 4-26 race. Kittel won four stages in last year’s Tour, including the prestigious finale on the Champs Elysees in Paris.