Tour de France: David Millar left out by Team Garmin-Sharp

David Millar has competed in the Tour de France on 12 occasions

Britain's David Millar has criticised Team Garmin-Sharp after they dropped him for this year's Tour de France.

The 37-year-old was expected to take part in his 13th and final Tour, which begins in Leeds on Saturday, 5 July but was excluded due to health concerns.

He tweeted: "I was going to be ready for the Tour. So sad my team didn't believe in me after everything we've been through. Not cool."

Alex Dowsett, 25, also misses out, meaning only three Britons will race.

Champion Chris Froome, 29, and Geraint Thomas will ride for Team Sky, while Mark Cavendish will represent Omega Pharma - Quick-Step.

Millar, who is one of only six Britons to have worn the yellow jersey, revealed inadvertently last week that he was part of the Garmin-Sharp squad.

The Scot later apologised for announcing his selection ahead of the final nine-man squad being revealed publicly.

However, he subsequently failed to finish in the British National Road Championships on Sunday and admitted he was concerned about his place.

He tweeted: "None of my team will answer the phone to me. I under-performed at the nationals. I'm now so scared about losing my Tour spot I can't sleep."

A few hours later, he tweeted that he had been excluded, something Garmin-Sharp confirmed on Monday afternoon.

"Had David been healthy, he would have been a phenomenal team member," said team director Charly Wegelius.

"We would have loved to have him. Unfortunately, as seen over the weekend, David is sick, so we were forced to make a difficult and sad decision."

Dowsett, meanwhile, was not fit enough to take part in the British National Road Championships on Sunday.

He finished third behind Geraint Thomas and winner Sir Bradley Wiggins in the time-trial earlier in the week but has been left out of Movistar's Tour squad.

Wiggins, 34, the first British winner of the Tour in 2012, has already been left out of the Team Sky squad, as has Peter Kennaugh, 25, and Ben Swift, 26, who finished first and second in the British National Road Championships at the weekend.