Milram sprint specialist Alessandro Petacchi will miss next week’s start of the Giro d’Italia after he was diagnosed with bronchitis, the German/Italian team said Saturday.

"I'm very sorry that I won't be able to start in the Giro d'Italia," said Petacchi in a statement. "Yesterday (Friday), I thought that I would be able to start, even if my condition is very bad because I have not been able to train the last 12 days. I feel better now but there is not enough time for a good training.

"So, I agreed with our team manager Gerry Van Gerven, that I would, instead, prepare myself for the Tour de France," he added.

The 34-year-old Petacchi developed bronchitis during the Tour of Turkey two weeks ago, since when he has been on a course of antibiotics which have prevented him from training.

Veteran Erik Zabel will be head the team in place of the Italian, who with 24 stage wins to date is one of the most successful Giro participants, notching a post-War record of nine in 2004.

Zabel, whose previous Giro appearance came with T-Mobile in 2005, is currently getting over a knee injury suffering in the Flèche Wallonne.

Milram did not mention Petacchi's doping appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which he filed after returning a non-negative test for elevated levels of Salbutamol last season. It's a drug used by asthma sufferers and Petacchi has clearance to take it.

The Italian Cycling Federation cleared him of wrong-doing, putting the non-negative result down to human error, but the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) took the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport and asked that he be banned for two years.