Great Britain 's Chris Froome has been ruled out of the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race for health reasons . 'Still not feeling well so wo n't be making it to # TirrenoAdriatico2015 Really disappointed but health comes first , ' the 2013 Tour de France winner posted on Twitter . He has been suffering from a chest infection . The seven day race , which begins on Wednesday in Italy , was highly anticipated as the top four Tour de France favourites - Froome , Spain 's Alberto Contador , Colombian Nairo Quintana and defending Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali of Italy - were scheduled to compete . Team Sky star Chris Froome ( right ) has been suffering from a chest infection . Froome ( right ) has been ruled out of this week 's seven-day race in Italy . Froome told the BBC : ' I 've been ill for a few days now and , unfortunately , I could n't shake it off in time . ' Froome should , however , 'be fine ' to race in the Volta a Catalunya , which begins on 23 March . He added : 'After speaking with the doctors we decided as a precaution that it would be best to take a few days off the bike to recover fully . 'This is obviously frustrating after the good start that I 've had to the season , but it 's a minor setback . ' The 2013 Tour de France champion is targeting a return to racing in Catalonia later this month .
Chris Froome has been ruled out of the Tirreno-Adriatico race in Catalunya . British rider has been suffering from a chest infection . 2013 Tour de France champion is targeting Volta a Italy comeback .