MURCIA, Spain, Sept 3, 2010 (AFP) – Spanish cyclist Juan Antonio Flecha withdrew from the Tour of Spain Friday, hours after being treated in hospital for a virus that has hit other members of Team Sky.

Flecha dropped out of the race 126 kilometres into the 7th stage, a 187-kilometer course from Murcia to Orihuela in eastern Spain, an AFP journalist covering the event said.

A spokesman for Britain’s Team Sky earlier said the rider began the stage despite being admitted to hospital during the night.

He said Flecha was suffering from a virus that has already forced Team Sky riders John Lee Augustyn and Britain’s Ben Swift out of the event.

“Doctors recommended Flecha withdraw from the race if he was still suffering from fever or nausea,” he said.

The source of the virus was not immediately clear, but Team Sky has so far ruled out food poisoning.

The team said one of its staff remained hospitalized in the southern city of Seville, where the Tour of Spain started on August 28.