Frenchman Benoît Cosnefroy, who has been suffering from bronchitis for several days, withdrew from Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday morning, his AG2R-Citroën team announced a few hours before the start.
“His state of health has improved in recent hours but does not allow him to compete in such a demanding event,” said the French team’s doctor, Serge Niamke.
The participation of the Norman puncher in Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday is still planned, according to his team. Cosnefroy, 27, was one of the outsiders for the Flèche Wallonne and its famous wall of Huy, where he took second place in 2020.
But he fell ill before the Amstel Gold Race last Sunday, a race that “didn’t help matters”, according to the Norman who lamented being on “a way of the cross” on Tuesday.
