Australian Tour de France debutant Matthew Wilson is out of the race after finishing the 11th stage over the permitted time limit.

On a day that the 25-year-old fdjeux.com rider will probably regret for the rest of his life, Wilson came in 21min 44sec behind stage winner Juan Antonio Flecha because he forgot to bring along his asthma inhaler.

Wilson, who had been doing fine work throughout the race's first ten days for teammates Baden Cooke and Brad McGee, now faces a lonely return to their apartment in Nice.

"I'm not feeling so good. I've been working hard since the start of the race and now this," a gutted Wilson said.

"Every day so far I've had my puffer (asthma inhaler) in my pocket but today I left for the stage and just forgot to lift it.

"I was ready to go back for it but thought that I would be okay. It was a pretty short stage.

"Then about 30km in I started wheezing and could hardly breathe. I managed to get some ventolin from someone but that didn't work.

"It happened on the day I was least expecting it. To say I'm upset is an understatement."

Wilson's role in the fdjeux.com set up has been limited, but important nonetheless to the likes of McGee and Cooke, who he has been helping in the lead-outs for Cooke's sprints at the intermediate points of the stage and at the finish.

Whether his loss is likely to cause Cooke problems in the days ahead as he tries to defend his green jersey with an eight-point lead over compatriot Robbie McEwen (Lotto) is arguable.

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