“When a rider has a fever, it is dangerous to let him start, even if he might be better tomorrow. He did not eat this morning and felt very weak,” Argos-Shimano team physician Edwin Achterberg explained and continued “We don’t want to take any risks—health comes first.”

“I felt really good during the first few days, and especially after John Degenkolb’s win yesterday,” Ji explained and added “I just got sick during the night, and it is really hard to leave this beautiful race already. It was my goal to support John to a stage win and to finish this race. So I am very disappointed that I can’t reach the second part of my goal."

Last year Ji was the first Chinese to finish the Vuelta a España.

Stay tuned to RoadCycling.com for complete coverage of the Giro d'Italia 2013 and follow Roadcycling.com on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.