Apparently health problems of Carlos Betancur have no end, as the 24-year old Colombian struggles to regain a good racing rhythm following his successful beginning of the 2014 season and was forced to withdraw from Liege-Bastogne-Liege due to tonsillitis.

Despite being reportedly overweight, the Ag2R La Mondiale leader enjoyed his best ever beginning of the season with victories at the Tour du Haut Var and Paris-Nice, with three stage wins taken in the process.

The first ever victory in the WorldTour stage race of the explosive Colombian suggested he’s going to be one of the strongest contenders to take the spoils in the Ardennes classic, but a string of illnesses and injuries forced Betancur out of the Volta a Catalunya and Vuelta al Pais Vasco, effectively wreaking his preparations towards the hilly one-day races.

Despite some questions over his participation, Betancur lined up at the Amstel Gold race and Fleche Wallonne, finishing 65 and 36 respectively, wishing for significant improvement at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege 100th edition, but as the Ag2R La Mondiale informed today, young Colombian was forced to withdraw from the final Ardennes showdown due to fever he suffered last night.

In Betancur’s absence, Ag2R La Mondiale lines up with seven-rider squad at the Liege-Bastogne-Liege, consisting of:

Romain Bardet, Mikael Cherel, Ben Gastauer, Sébastien Minard, Matteo Montaguti, Domenico Pozzovivo and Christophe Riblon