Tour de France: 11 Green jersey riders who withdrew the year of their defence

The Soccer World Cup has the curse of the defending champions and it looks like the Tour de France has the curse of the green jersey defender.

Read: Full list of 2018 Tour de France withdrawals

Michael Matthews did not start Stage 5 of the Tour de France, making him the 11th green jersey defender to withdraw from the race on the year where he was defending it.

Chad Haga (Team Sunweb) explained to letour.fr why the rider had to withdraw, saying:

“Michael fell ill overnight with a stomach pain. We were hopeful he could start but it got worse this morning and the doctor made the decision he should go home. We had been targetting todays’ and tomorrow stages as stages he could win.  It’s a blow to the morale but we’ll focus around Tom.”

Matthews isn’t alone, though. Here’s the full list of green jersey wearers who have had to withdraw the year after they won it.

2018: Michael Matthews (Stage 5)
2007: Robbie McEwen (Stage 8)
1996: Laurent Jalabert (Stage 10)
1993: Laurent Jalabert (Stage 17)
1992: Djamolidine Abdoujaparov (Stage 13)
1989: Eddy Planckaert (Stage 18)
1980: Bernard Hinault (Stage 13)
1967: Willy Planckaert (Stage 8)
1964: Rik Van Looy (Stage 3)
1958: Jean Forestier (Stage 2)
1955: Ferdi Kubler (Stage 12)

What is the Green Jersey?

The Green Jersey is awarded to riders on a points system. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is considered a sprinters’ competition