Earlier today it was announced that Chris Froome has withdrawn from his planned Tirreno-Adriatico participation. Allegedly because of joint inflammation in his lower back.

Commenting on his lower back injury Chris Froome wrote "Slight inflammation in my lower back, so I’ll be putting my feet up for a few days on doctors' orders. No racing for me in Tirreno-Adriatico next week."

"Christopher (Froome) has suffered a slight inflammation to the sacroiliac joint in the lower back. As a precaution we have chosen to withdraw him from next week’s Tirreno-Adriatico so he can focus on recovering and preparing for the Volta a Catalunya,” Team Sky Doctor Alan Farrell explained.

"This is just a minor setback for Chris and we hope he will get back to full training within a week. He’s obviously disappointed to miss Tirreno-Adriatico, but we shouldn’t take any chances at this stage of the season," Team Sky Performance Manager Rod Ellingworth added

Following Froome's exit from his team's Tirreno-Adriatico roster, Richie Porte will now switch to Tirreno-Adriatico to lead the team here, while Geraint Thomas will become team leader at this year's Paris-Nice. The Sky team announced Ben Swift will now ride Strade Bianche on Saturday, replacing Bradley Wiggins who’s next race will be in a strong line-up at Tirreno-Adriatico, starting on Wednesday.

According to Paris-Nice race organizer A.S.O., Froome is switching from Paris-Nice to Tirreno-Adriatico because it offers him better opportunities for banking points for the world rankings dur to its technical features and the fact that it is featuring an individual time trial. A.S.O. disappointingly chose not to include time trials in this year's Paris-Nice route.

Team Sky Pro Cycling roster for Tirreno-Adriatico 2014:
Richie Porte, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Bradley Wiggins, Dario Cataldo, Bernhard Eisel, Peter Kennaugh, Mikel Nieve, and Ian Stannard.

Team Sky Pro Cycling roster for Paris-Nice 2014:
Geraint Thomas, Christian Knees, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Vasil Kiryienka, David López, Gabriel Rasch, Luke Rowe, and Xabier Zandio.

How will Team Sky Pro Cycling perform in the 2014 Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico? Check in at www.roadcycling.com to find out and be sure to follow Roadcycling.com on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.