Movistar have explained why Alex Dowsett was not part of their nine man team for the Tour de France. They say his overall form was not good enough, despite his time trialling being strong.

“He won the national time trial, but he’s not in great form. He’s in good form, but not great,” team manager Eusebio Unzué told Cycling Weekly.

“We wanted a cyclist in our nine-man team who is more complete than he is. We needed riders who were less a time trialer and ones who could go well on the flats and climb well.”

Dowsett was already fairly confident he would not make the team after the nationals and Tour de Suisse, and he explained that he messed his training up.

“I was really under par,” he said. “It’s a lack of top end form. It’s a misjudgment in training. I have done a lot of threshold stuff and my time trialling at the moment is good but I’ve neglected the top end.”