Team says Spain’s Alejandro Valverde won’t race in Tour de France

Valverde out of Tour de France

PARIS — Top-ranked cyclist Alejandro Valverde’s team says the Spanish rider will not compete in the Tour de France because of a doping ban in Italy.

The Caisse d’Epargne team said Tuesday that Valverde met with his lawyers and was told he would have no recourse against the ban before the three-week Tour starts in Monaco on July 4. The race dips into Italy on July 21.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has agreed to hear Valverde’s appeal to overturn the Italian ban. Any decision won’t come early enough for him to start the Tour, the team said in a statement.

Valverde is challenging a two-year ban imposed last month by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) that prevents him from riding in Italy.