Dan McLay has become the third British rider to abandon the 2017 Tour de France, calling it quits on stage 17 after struggling for several days.
McLay, 25, and riding his second Tour de France, was in last place overall, the lanterne rouge, after being the last-placed finisher on three of the last five stages.
And he finally succumbed to his efforts on the brutal Alpine test, abandoning the race between the Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Galibier.
McLay followed green jersey Marcel Kittel (QuickStep Floors) and Giro d’Italia 2017 fourth-placed finisher Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) in quitting on the stage.
And in doing so, he becomes the third Brit to leave this year’s race, after Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) crashed out on stage four and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) did so likewise on stage nine.
McLay therefore leaves the race with three top-ten finishes to his name, including fifth on stage 11 into Pau behind Marcel Kittel.
Six British riders remain in the race, with Chris Froome (Team Sky) in the yellow jersey ahead of stage 17 and Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) in white.
Another Brit, Team Sky’s Luke Rowe, is now the lanterne rouge again, having joked that McLay ‘stole his prize’ when he had replaced him in last place earlier in the week.
Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates), British champion Steve Cummings and Dimension Data team-mate Scott Thwaites are the other three Brits still in the Tour peloton.
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