No farewell Tour de France for retiring Bahrain Victorious climber as viral infection claims another rider
CyclingThursday, 25 June 2026 at 21:07
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Follow us on GoogleBahrain Victorious will not be able to count on Pello Bilbao in the Tour de France. The 36-year-old Spaniard was set to ride his very last Tour de France, as he is retiring from professional cycling after this season. However, a viral infection he contracted during the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has thrown a wrench in his plans.
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The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, formerly the Critérium du Dauphiné, has turned out to be quite a damaging race in retrospect. The French stage race was rife with serious crashes, with Oscar Onley (after falling into a ravine) among the major casualties. He will miss the Tour de France.
Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) also took a hard fall and did not finish the race. At Onley’s Netcompany INEOS team, there are also concerns about Kévin Vauquelin, who fell ill after the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Iván Romeo, in turn, had already been ruled out by his Movistar team, also due to a severe case of the flu. Of the 154 riders, only 91 ultimately finished the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Bilbao did make it to the finish in Nice, but fell ill after the race.
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Bilbao has only the Vuelta a España left as a Grand Tour option
It indicates that, of the 91 finishers in France, a handful of riders also fell ill. Bilbao was so badly affected that he lost too much of his fitness to compete well in the Tour de France. “He didn’t recover in time to be selected.”
"Pello will now take a short break before he begins his preparation for his goals later this season," said Bahrain Victorious. Bilbao is expected to compete in the Vuelta a España, which will be his very last Grand Tour.
The veteran has competed in seventeen Grand Tours so far in his career. In the Giro d'Italia, he finished fifth twice and sixth once. He also won two stages there. In the 2023 Tour de France, he also finished sixth and won a stage. He hasn’t competed in the Vuelta since 2018.
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - Vamos Mathieu! Très fort aujourd’hui, forza campione—Mont Royal será fuego!pedalpowe2925-09-2026
- - This is going to be chaos without Pogi. Alaphilippe, Powless, maybe Hirschi… but if it’s attritional, MVDP in the final hour is a problem for everyone.jeremya25-09-2026
- - Not convinced skipping Quebec/MTL GPs was optimal prep. Local race rhythm matters; Luxembourg wasn’t the same level. Hope it doesn’t backfire.patriciaw25-09-2026
- - He says he’s lighter than in spring—any numbers on race weight or watts per kilo on the main climb? Curious where his limit actually is.michael5425-09-2026
- - Quick question: how many laps are they doing in Montreal, and what’s total elevation gain? Trying to picture how many times they hit Mont Royal.robert6525-09-2026
- - Without radios, he’s deadly. His race reading is elite. If it splits on the second climb, he’ll sniff it out. Go Oranje!sprocketspiny25-09-2026
- - 174 km solo in Luxembourg was wild, but I don’t think that translates1 to Montreal with no Pog and a deeper field. Still, form looks mega.davidm25-09-2026
- - Wait, is this really his final race of 2026? That can’t be right, no? Did you mean final race of the season 2024? Bit confusing there.tourdeforce925-09-2026
- - Smart not to have the Dutch ride tempo all day. Let France/USA commit early, then counter on the park climb. Classic Worlds chess.samanthak25-09-2026
- - Loved the honesty from MVDP about Mont Royal. That first climb being the decider makes sense, especially if it’s a5–4 min VO2 max effort every lap. Shades of Glasgow, but with more bite.breakawaybikerd25-09-2026
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