MONACO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Bora-Argon 18 rider Dominik Nerz had to abandon the 2015 Tour de France on the 11th stage due to severe stomach problems on Wednesday.
The leader of the German team, 25 years old, was suffering the pain since Tuesday's 10th stage and was eventually forced out of the 11th, a 188km ride from Pau/Cauterets to Valle de Saint-Savin.
"Due to my stomach problems, I have hardly slept tonight. I'm devastated, I have no energy left and I need to understand somehow what happened," said Nerz.
"It hurts incredibly to let the team down. They have always stood by me and supported me best possible. Giving up is the worst thing that can happen to a rider," he added.
Before the stage, Nerz was on the 21st position in the overall individual standings, the best German in this year's Tour.
His team Bora is down to seven riders for the second half of the Tour, as Andreas Schillinger withdrew before the 4th stage due to an infection.
"This is a very serious setback for the team," said team manager Ralph Denk. "Despite his rib injury, he came very well through the first week of the Tour thanks to his teammates, but now the stomach problems were too exhausting to continue the Tour. This suffering is also one side of the Tour, though the most unpleasant."