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Tyler Farrar drops out of Amgen Tour of California with stomach bug.

Published: Feb. 20, 2008
Farrar, shown at the start Wednesday, abandoned mid-race
Farrar, shown at the start Wednesday, abandoned mid-race
Photo: Andy Pemberton

Tyler Farrar, the young Slipstream-Chipotle rider who took the yellow jersey following Tuesday’s stage, only got to show it off for about 50 miles on Wednesday, as he dropped out with stomach bug that is spreading through the peloton.

“I had a bit of a rough night last night,” Farrar said before the start Wednesday. He said then that he thought he was feeling better, but he was dropped by the pack on the first hill. He caught on on the descent, only to be dropped again. He climbed into a team car before the day’s major climbs began.

Farrar, a sprinter who took the lead based on a strong prologue and by grabbing some time bonus sprints on Tuesday's stage, had not expected to retain the leader's jersey following Wednesday's hill stage.

Team director Jonathan Vaughters said some kind of bug had been going around, and that team rider Steven Cozza had it earlier in the week.

On Wednesday, High Road’s Edvald Boasson Hagen and Bouygues Telecom’s Laurent Lefèvre also dropped out sick at a feed zone. In total six riders signed out from the race six on stage 3 due to sickness, and another three riders who had been sick earlier in the week but continued racing failed to make the time cut.