Hesjedal forced out of Giro

Corvara in Badia - Canadian Ryder Hesjedal was forced to quit the Giro d'Italia during a tough 14th stage in the Dolomites mountains due to illness, his Trek team said Saturday,

"Unfortunately our DS in the race just told us that ryder hesjedal was forced to abandon due to stomach problems," said a brief statement on Twitter, relayed by Trek's DS (sporting director).

Hejsedal claimed a surprise victory in the 2012 edition of the Italian three-week race, but had begun the 14th stage well down the field at nearly five minutes behind overnight leader Andrey Amador, a Costa Rican with the Movistar team.

The Canadian's retirement comes days after Trek's Swiss star Fabian Cancellara pulled out having failed in his bid to claim victory in either of the race's first two time trials.

The 15th stage of the race is a formidable 10.8 km long time trial between that, after a comparatively flat section over 1.8 km, is uphill all the way over the remaining 9 km.

#giro unfortunately our DS in the race just told us that @ryder_hesjedal was forced to abandon due to stomach problems. More news to follow.

— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) May 21, 2016