Cyclist Cadel Evans's preparations for the London Olympics have suffered a distracting blow.
Robel, his 20-month-old son, has been denied a UK visa, preventing him from attending the Games in support of his father.
Evans and his wife Chiara Passerini adopted the child in January after he was abandoned in an African orphanage.
Passerini tweeted that she was ''a bit furious'' the toddler was unable to visit London to watch Evans chase gold.
''Thank you all for the nice wishes, but unfortunately bureaucracy doesn't allow Lil Man to go and watch the Olympics. Ridiculous,'' she tweeted this evening. ''Aussie visa complicated issue … we start with the UK one for now - we go in order with our trips''.
Evans previously told the Herald Sun fathering his ''little man'' trumped any of his race victories. ''It just gave everything I do a little bit more purpose,'' he said.
Robel is registered on an Ethiopian passport and lives with his parents at their home in the Swiss village of Stabio. The family have already faced visa difficulties over plans to bring Robel to Australia later this year to meet his new-found cousins.