Italian Damiano Cunego has been ruled out of the Tour de France due to a virus infection, team Lampre said on Tuesday.

The former world number one is still nursing the Epstein-Barr (EBV) virus which accounted for his disappointing performance at the Tour of Italy earlier this year.

Cunego, who has 18 career titles to his name, is expected to return to competitive cycling in late July, Lampre said.

The Tour de France runs from July 2 to 24.

Source: Xinhua