Nasser Bouhanni will miss his third consecutive Tour de France after it was announced that he will not be a member of the Alcare Samsic team for the Tour de France, which has been rescheduled from August 29 to September 20.

The Frenchman joined Arkea Samsic in the off-season after being left out of Cofidis' Tour selection in 2018 and 2019.

He started the year with stage wins at the Saudi Tour and Tour de la Provence, but will not compete in the 2020 Tour, where the Alcare Samsic team will consist primarily of Nairo Quintana's overall challenge.

"The Arkea Samsic team and I have made this decision," Bouhanni said on the team's website.

"It was a decision we made together and we considered it carefully; when the route for the 2020 Tour de France was announced, I quickly got used to the idea. I quickly realized that it was aimed more at climbers than anything else."

"That said, I certainly dream of the Tour de France. A stage win at the Tour de France is one of my main goals in my career. I know I haven't had the chance to fully express myself in this race yet. The Tour continues to be my goal. It's a race that inspires me."

The 29-year-old French rider has been at odds with the Tour throughout his career: he was forced to abandon his debut race in 2013 due to illness, and in 2014 Arnaud Demaret abandoned him, forcing him to move from FDJ to Cofidis.

In 2015, Bouhanni abandoned the French championships and the opening week of the Tour due to injuries sustained in a crash early in the race. A year later, Bouhanni missed the Tour after breaking his hand in a hotel altercation at the French championships.

Bouhanni finished the 2017 Tour, but was far from his best form, suffering a major crash at the Tour de Yorkshire.

"I've talked to (team director) Emmanuel Hubert, and this year's route doesn't suit sprinters," Bouhanni said of the route, which begins its climb in Nice in the opening week.

"I would rather take my chances in the other races on the reorganized 2020 calendar than in the Tour, where my chances to shine are obviously reduced. If the route had seven or eight sprint stages, things would be different."

With Arkea Samsic not invited to the 2020 Grand Tour, Buhanni will not have the opportunity to add to his total of six stage wins at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. He cited Milan-San Remo (scheduled for August 8 or 22) and the European Championships as his goals after the 2020 calendar change.

"Originally I should start again with the Vuelta a Burgos, and after that I want a big month of August," Bouhanni said.

"We want to start the restarts in good conditions. Of course, there are many very important races, like Milan-San Remo and the European Championships in Plouai."

Emmanuelle Hubert praised Bouhani for stepping down from the Tour team, which is composed mainly of Quintana and also includes Warren Barguil.

"I am not surprised that Nasser is open. Because in just a few months, I've really gotten to know him behind the rider," Hubert said.

"His intellectual integrity and professionalism are admirable.