Hushovd to skip Le Tour

Hushovd, who is also expected to be one of Briton Mark Cavendish's chief rivals in the Olympic road race in London in July, dropped out of the Giro d'Italia last month citing fatigue.

"We performed some tests ... after the Giro and found he had signs of a viral infection from earlier in the year," team doctor Max Testa said in a statement. "But everything is normal now."

Hushovd, who won the green jersey for the best sprinter on the Tour de France in 2005 and 2009, said: "I need more time to recover and it's always been a goal of mine to do well at the Olympics.

"I also hope to be part of the BMC's time trial squad at the world championships (in September) and to compete in the road race as well," added the 2010 world champion.