Paris, January 28, 2020 (AFP) – Julian Alaphilippe, suffering from stomach pain, resigned from the Tour of San Juan, in Argentina, before the start of Tuesday’s stage.

The Frenchman—second in the South American race last year—finished back on the second stage, which was won by the Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria (UAE Emirates).

The Tour de San Juan continues on Tuesday, with a 15.2 kilometer race against the clock, between Punta Negra, and Ullum. Alaphilippe won the time trial at this early-season race, in 2019.

Like last year, the former yellow jersey wearer of the Tour de France based his early season in South America. After the Tour of San Juan, the calendar provides for the Tour of Colombia, February 11 to 16, before returning to Europe for Paris-Nice (March 8 to 15).

Abandoning, Alaphilippe leaves full responsibilities to his 20-year-old Belgian teammate, Remco Evenepoel, who was the European time trial champion, and silver medalist at the world championships in this event. The young phenom finished 9th in the general classificsation in 2019 Tour de San Juan, after having worked for Alaphilippe.