Brussels - Robbie McEwen will miss this year's Tour de France after suffering a heavy fall in Belgium, the Australian sprinter confirmed on his Twitter feed Friday. McEwen broke his left shinbone after colliding with a road sign at the end of the second stage of the Tour of Belgium and needed two screws inserted in his leg to repair the damage.
However, the 36-year-old won't recover in time to compete in this year's Tour, which starts on July 4 in Monte Carlo and ends on July 26 in Paris.
McEwen, who has won 12 Tour stages in his career to date as well as a silver medal at the 2002 world championships, doesn't envisage returning to competitive cycling until September.
