Earlier today Team Garmin-Sharp-POC announced that it has decided to withdraw its general classification favorite Andrew Talansky from this year's Tour de France.

"Andrew is suffering the cumulative effects of multiple crashes during the first part of the Tour, in addition to battling an upper respiratory infection.  The impact on his hip from the crash on Stage 7 has led to acute sacroiliitis, from which the pain has made it increasingly difficult for him to pedal," Team Garmin-Sharp-POC physician Kevin Sprouse explained.

Commenting on his decision to leave the Tour, American Andrew Talansky said "I'm absolutely heartbroken to leave the Tour de France. I built my season around the Tour, and the team has supported me every step of the way. I had hoped the rest day would allow some time to recover from my crashes.  I was hopeful that I could get through yesterday and I tried to be there for the team, the way they have been there for me this whole time. But it proved to be too much. I wanted the team to keep up the fight for the stage, and in turn for them, I wanted to fight to the finish. Its been hard for me personally with the crashes but I'm really proud of how we rode together here. These guys are so strong and there is so much more they can do over the rest of the Tour. I'll go home now and rest and recover but I will be watching from there and cheering for my team every day."

Team Garmin-Sharp-POC issued the following statement to the press:

"Andrew came in to this Tour de France in excellent condition. He has been suffering the effects of some very heavy crashes. We are proud of his ride yesterday, of his tenacity and his courage. He was determined to finish the stage, no matter how far back he was, and he gave the nod to his teammates to go with the plan of going for the stage. He wanted them to ride for it and he wanted to finish for them. That’s the heart of a champion. We are sad to see him leave, but its important that he goes home, rests, recovers, and refocuses on the rest of his season. There is a lot of Tour left to race. All of these guys are capable of doing great things here. We have a very strong team and we will continue to fight on to Paris."