Sky Procycling’s Michael Rogers will miss this years Tour de France due to glandular fever that has hampered his preparation for the race. The Australian signed for the British team this season off the back of his most successful season of his career last year, and was to be a key player in their ambition to get Bradley Wiggins on the podium in France.
The recurring illness also affected Rogers in 2008 when he had hoped to repeat his 2006 feat of finishing in the top ten of the race.
“With anything less than 95 per cent [full health], there is no point starting,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“If you have any niggling health worries or injuries, you are just counting your days before it's all over.”
The 31 year old has missed a number of race and training days this year due to the illness. He started Bayern-Rundfahrt in late May but had to abandon on stage two when he felt his health had not fully recovered yet. This lead to his decision to miss the Tour of Luxembourg in order to focus on training instead.
“I have had close to a month with no real training. I didn't do Luxembourg. It would have prolonged the recovery phase even more.
“The Tour is the highlight for everyone's year. But in 2008 I did a similar thing - I skipped the Tour [due to the same illness] - and came back and had a successful end of the season.”
The month of July will still be important for the three-time world time trial champion. If his health has fully recovered, it’s likely that he will go to the Vuelta a España as the team’s protected leader.
“It's a bit premature to say what my program is at the moment, but the Vuelta is an option.”
Rogers has faced many setbacks in his career, including during 2007’s Tour where he was in a breakaway and bound to take the leaders yellow jersey. Instead, he crashed out of the stage and broke his collarbone. Despite these and other potentially career limiting incidents, he bounced back and had his most successful season to date last year. He won the Vuelta a Andalucia and Tour of California and finished second and third in the Critérium International and Tour de Romandie, respectively.
Rogers knows better than anyone else that staying optimistic has its benefits.
“Hopefully there are still plenty of Tours for me. Hopefully, I can do another four or five before my career is out,” he said.