Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers) abandoned his last grand tour after falling ill with 80km remaining in stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia.

Porte dropped out of the peloton after 70km of racing on the day's first climb, the category 3 Vilanova Grotte. Eurosport on-bike reporter Bradley Wiggins reported seeing Porte throwing up during the ride, adding that Porte shouted "stomach," indicating that he was suffering from stomach problems.

The 37-year-old Porte, who is set to retire at the end of this season, made a splash in his debut Giro d'Italia in 2010 when he wore the maglia rosa for three days, finishing seventh overall and winning the youth class. He took on his fourth and final Giro as a super-domestique for race leader Richard Carapace.

"Richie Porte has confirmed that he has abandoned stage 19 of the Giro d'Italia due to illness," Ineos Grenadiers announced on Twitter.

"This is Ritchie's last Grand Tour and we are disappointed that we will not be able to take him to Verona or include him on the road tomorrow," the team later added.

With Porte's abandonment, Calapaz loses one of its key helpers for the final summit finish of the Giro. It was an unfortunate start for Ineos Grenadiers, following the crash of climber Pavel Sivakov on stage 19. However, Kalapas ended the day with a three-second overall advantage over Bora-Hansgrohe leader Jai Hindley, leaving the final mountain stage on Saturday before the Verona time trial on Sunday.

The final chapter of the 2022 Giro d'Italia is still to come, but Porte's Grand Tour career is now complete.

"From my first Giro as a neo-pro (wearing Maria Rosa for three days), to numerous Tour de France victories, Tour de France podiums, and iconic climbing support for Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, it's been quite a journey." Ineos Grenadier said.

"This will be Richie's last season and there are many more races to come. Cheers, Richie."