Rio 2016: Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche blames 'bad air con' after contracting pneumonia at Olympics

Cyclist 'gutted' to be missing his next race, the Spanish Vuelta

Roche finished fourth with Team Sky at the UCI Road Cycling World Championships in Doha on Sunday (Getty)

The Irish cyclist Nicolas Roche has contracted pneumonia which he claims might have been caused by “bad air con” in Rio.

Roche, who came 29th in the men’s road race on day one of the Olympics, developed a case of bacterial pneumonia while in Brazil and will now miss the Spanish Vuelta which takes place across northern and eastern Spain this weekend.

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Roche announced he won’t be competing in the race because of the pneumonia on Facebook, later adding on Twitter that he “probably contracted the virus with bad air con in Rio”. Roche was staying in the Olympic village during the competition but it is not clear if this is the air con he was referring to or how he knew air con caused his pneumonia.

The Olympic Council of Ireland said in a statement they were not aware of any medical concerns during Roche's stay.

"Nicolas stayed in the Olympic Village with the rest of Team Ireland but we have not been made aware of any medical concerns during or after his stay in the Village. Our athletes are our number one priority and we have not received any complaints in the building.”

The cyclist, who is on doctor’s orders to rest for eight days said he was “gutted” to be missing the Vuelta, the third of cycling’s three Grand tours along with the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia.

In a release through his squad, Team Sky, he said: “The illness couldn't have come at a worse time really and after speaking to the medical staff it's pretty clear that I'm not going to be ready in time. I'll be focusing on my recovery and looking to get back racing as soon as I can.”

Roche said he hopes to be ready to race again in early September. He has previously competed at the Olympics in Beijing and London and was in the team to help Chris Froome win the 2015 Tour de France.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Rio 2016 for comment.