US cycling legend Lance Armstrong suffered a broken collarbone during an event in Spain on Monday, an injury that threatens to disrupt his bid to win a record eighth Tour de France title this summer.
The 37-year-old fell along with several other riders about 20km from the finish line of the first stage of the Tour of Castilla y Leon in central Spain.
He was then seen clutching his arm sitting on the grass after taking his helmet off.
PHOTO: AFP
“Lance Armstrong suffered a break in the middle of his right collarbone,” the race organizers said in a statement after the rider underwent an X-ray at a hospital in the city of Valladolid. “After receiving medical attention and treatment for pain, Armstrong left the hospital this afternoon.”
The rider said he was devastated over the accident which places a serious question mark about him competing in the Giro d’Italia in June.
“I am very disappointed. Very. Especially for the Giro,” Armstrong said.
“Now the biggest problem is the pain. It hurts. We will see. The guys in the hospital in Valladolid were great and very nice and helpful. But now I feel miserable. I need to relax a couple of days, fix the problem and make a plan. I hope I can tell you more about the Giro in a week,” he said.
He nodded his head when asked if he would return to the US.
“It could have been worse, I suppose. I have road rash abrasions on my right hip and arm but the big problem is the broken collarbone,” Armstrong said.
“I never had this before. It is pretty painful. Now we must have to see how it heals. I will go back to the US and there we will decide on surgery,” he said.
Armstrong, a cancer survivor who went on to claim a record seven Tour de France crowns, ended a three-and-a-half year retirement at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January.
He declared his goal this year is to win an eighth Tour de France title in July, and had hoped to use the Castilla y Leon race as part of his preparations.
Armstrong told reporters his participation in the Giro d’Italia in May “will be very complicated.”
The manager of his Astana team, Johan Bruyneel, said the injury was “a clean fracture without complications” and he should make a “fast recovery.”
In his last outing on Saturday, Armstrong finished in 125th place in the Milan-San Remo in Italy, his first European race since July 2005.
His return to the sport has sparked rumors of friction between him and teammate Alberto Contador over who will be chosen to lead the Astana’s team’s challenge in this year’s Tour de France. Contador won the race in 2007.
The Tour of Castilla y Leon was the first time the two have raced alongside each other with Astana.
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