Frank Schleck (Trek) won't start the Tour de France sue to a knee injury.

Schleck has been struggling with an inflammation in the knee ligament since a crash in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and skipped the closing time trial in the Tour de Suisse in order to recover more. An MRI in the Crossklinik in Basel yesterday showed a distinct inflammation of the medial collateral ligament and a bone injury that has not healed. This rules the Luxembourgish champion out for the Tour de France and also for the National championships on Sunday. 

“This is a big disappointment for me, of course, but it had been in the air for a while now”, says Schleck. “The pain never really lessened and the only way to let it heal would have been to take complete rest. It was a catch-22: if I wanted to make the Tour team, I had to rest. I needed to take a break in the preparation to let the knee heal. But if I wanted to be fit for the Tour, I needed to train hard.”

“The knee wasn’t getting any better during the Tour de Suisse, despite daily treatments and all of us hoping for a miracle. We took the decision together and I think it’s correct. I can’t push it for 21 days straight and hope to make it to Paris. What I need is rest.”

Schleck’s program is still undecided, but the Tour of Spain could become his target. “I’ll take at least two weeks off and give the knee time to heal.”

“Not being at the tour, it’s a big thing for me. The Tour is the race I love the most, despite that it’s three weeks of stress. I did a lot of sacrifices, we did a recon of the key stages. It’s disappointing not to be able to race there and fight for the team’s goals.”

Trek Factory will announce it’s 9-man line-up for the Tour later today. Select fans of the team will get to announce one name each.