Nairo Quintana became the first rider to retire injured in the Tour de France when he retired on the final fifth stage in Megève with knee pain.

The Arkea-Samsic rider later described feeling "severe pain" in the same knee she injured in a training crash in early July.

"My leg was fine, but I felt intense pain in the knee I injured in training in early July. Considering the Tour de France, it was better to retire on this stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné," Quintana said in a statement released by the team.

Quintana started Sunday's final stage of the Dauphiné just 21 seconds out of the yellow and blue jerseys after leader Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) abandoned, but after an early attack battle, when the race split at the Col de la Loam and Col de Colombière, he was surprisingly far behind.

By the time he abandoned the race on the final Côte de Cordon and the climb of the Col de l'Altipole, the Colombian had lost more than five minutes from the leading group. In the end, the Criterium du Dauphiné was a five-day race finale, with Quintana's countryman Daniel Martinez (EF Pro Cycling) overhauling the French duo of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis). The team was able to overhaul the French duo of Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) for the five-day race finale.

Quintana was hit by a car while training in Motavita, Colombia, on July 3 and was off the bike for a little over a week before resuming training. The 30-year-old, who moved from Movistar to Arkea-Samsic, won the Tour de la Provence, the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, and the final Paris-Nice, the last World Tour race before the season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. He won the stage and enjoyed a brilliant start to 2020.

After returning to Europe on a charter flight from Colombia in late July, Quintana resumed competition at the Mont Ventoux-Denivelle Challenge, where he finished eighth. He finished third overall at the Tour de Ain and was always in the lead group at the Dauphiné until a setback on the final stage.

Quintana became the fifth Tour contender to abandon the shortened Dauphiné, which was held a week closer to the Tour's Grande Paix than usual. His compatriot Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) abandoned before the fourth stage due to back pain, while Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) and Emmanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) crashed on Saturday on the descent of the Plan Bois pass and dislocated their shoulders. They were forced to retire due to a dislocated shoulder.

Roglic crashed later in the day, but finished the stage and retained his overall lead.

L'Équipe reported that Bernal's back problems did not prevent him from training rides in the Alps on Saturday, and Jumbo-Visma manager Richard Plagge expressed confidence that Roglic's injury would not prevent him from competing in the Tour.

Beulah Hansgrohe confirmed that Buchmann did not suffer any broken bones in the fall, but Enrico Poitiers said that "there is still a big question mark over whether he can start the Tour de France."

The Tour will begin on August 29 in Nice.