French rider Nacer Bouhanni was named Monday as team leader of Cofidis for the Tour de France.
The announcement comes a day after Bouhanni was forced to pull out of the French national championships after injuring his hand in a fight the night before.
Bouhanni’s Cofidis team said in a statement afterwards that the 25-year-old had been “assaulted by drunken people”.
The 2012 French champion was visibly struggling with his hand injury but Cofidis said his Tour de France participation was not in doubt.
The Grand Boucle begins on Saturday at Mont St Michel with a flat stage expected to end in a bunch sprint, in which Bouhanni would be one of the favourites.
It will be a third Tour de France for Bouhanni after 2013 and 2015, as he bids for a first stage win in the race.
Cofidis team for Tour de France
Nacer Bouhanni (FRA), Borut Bozic (SLO), Jerome Cousin (FRA), Arnold Jeannesson (FRA), Christophe Laporte (FRA), Cyril Lemoine (FRA), Luis Angel Mate (ESP), Daniel Navarro (ESP), Geoffrey Soupe (FRA)
– Agence France-Presse
