Samuel Dumoulin wiil not participate in the upcoming Tour de France as he tells French newspaper L'Equipe . Since 2003, the 34-year-old sprinter has missed only one Tour de France, the 2007 edition.

"At the Critérium du Dauphiné I was not super on the climbs," Dumoulin admits. "The first week of the Tour is nervous and heavy. I would not be able to help the team there."

The Frenchman has one Tour stage on his palmares. In 2008 he beat William Frischkorn and Romain Feillu in a sprint from a breakaway.

His team AG2R La Mondiale has selected seven riders for La Grande Boucle. Jean-Christophe Péraud, Romain Bardet, Mikaël Cherel, Alexis Vuillermoz, Ben Gastauer, Johan Vansummeren and Patrick Gretsch.

Four riders compete for the remaining two spots: Christophe Riblon, Sebastien Minard, Matteo Montaguti and Jan Bakelants.