Chris Froome has been forced to withdraw from the Tirreno-Adriatico as he suffers from back pain and instead Team Sky will be led by Richie Porte in the Italian race. Geraint Thomas will be the captain in Paris-Nice.

Chris Froome has withdrawn from Tirreno-Adriatico due to joint inflammation in the lower back.

Team Sky’s Dr Alan Farrell explained,

“Chris has suffered a slight inflammation to the sacroiliac joint in the lower back. As a precaution we have chosen to withdraw him from next week’s Tirreno-Adriatico so he can focus on recovering and preparing for the Volta a Catalunya.”

Rod Ellingworth, Team Sky’s Performance Manager, added:

“This is just a minor setback for Chris and we hope he will get back to full training within a week. He’s obviously disappointed to miss Tirreno-Adriatico but we shouldn’t take any chances at this stage of the season.”

Richie Porte will now switch to Tirreno-Adriatico to lead the team with Geraint Thomas becoming team leader at Paris-Nice. Ben Swift will now ride Strade Bianche on Saturday, replacing Sir Bradley Wiggins who’s next race will be in a strong line-up at Tirreno-Adriatico, starting on Wednesday.

Team Sky for Tirreno-Adriatico

Dario Cataldo, Bernhard Eisel, Peter Kennaugh, Mikel Nieve, Richie Porte, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Ian Stannard, Bradley Wiggins