Allergy Forces LeMond to Sit Out Tour de France

Greg LeMond’s disastrous racing season got worse Sunday.

The three-time winner of the Tour de France will not be included in this year’s race because he is suffering from an allergy that has weakened him too much to compete, said Roger Legeay, manager of LeMond’s Gan racing team.

“Greg suffers from . . . an allergy from the Tour of Italy that weakened his immune system,” Legeay told reporters at the French cycling championships in Chatellerualt.

Legeay said he will start an all-French team, forcing LeMond to sit out the Tour for the first time since 1988, when he broke a collarbone during a training ride.

LeMond dropped out of this year’s Tour of Italy on the penultimate stage after falling behind eventual winner Miguel Indurain of Spain by about 2 1/2 hours. LeMond, who turned 32 on Saturday, also dropped out of the Route du Sud in southern France last week after a poor time trial.

LeMond traditionally starts the season slowly in an attempt to build for the Tour de France, which starts Saturday at Puy du Fou near Nantes. But he has struggled all year. He dropped out of several spring classics, including the Tour du Mediterranean.

LeMond, who last won the Tour in 1990, dropped out last year during the 14th stage.