NEWSLance Armstrong in Hospital After Bike Crash
March 23 2009, Published 5:36 a.m. ET
UPDATE 3:29pm: Lance speaks about his injury, saying: “In 17 years as a pro I have been lucky to avoid one of the most common cycling injuries. The crash has put my upcoming calendar in jeopardy but the most important thing for me right now is to get back home and rest up and begin my rehab."
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UPDATE: Jaciento Vidarte Chief of Press for the Cyclist’s Lap to Castilla & León tells OK!: “It was about a group of 120-130 cyclists, and they all ride pretty close to each other. At any moment with any wrong movement coming from anyone, no one knows who it is or where it came from. Two cyclists can collide, and then some others behind can fall down. One can have bad luck, fall, and just break something... "
"It was a pile-up, and it was a fall down 17.49 yards. A lot of cyclists have fallen at the race. There have been about fifteen other cyclists who have been involved in pile-ups, but none have fallen as hard as Lance Armstrong. The fall was 9.92 miles before reaching the finish line. It was about twenty minutes before reaching the finish line. The race started at twelve ten in the afternoon. Today the Cyclist’s Lap to Castilla & León was a little over 109.12 miles long. The race would have been done at approximately 4 p.m….
"He has broken his right collarbone. This afternoon, he will be out of the hospital. At the hospital in Valladolid they will not perform surgery on him. But surgery will be a decision that will be determined later by doctors… He came by himself pregnant girlfriend Anna Hansen was not with him.”
UPDATE: CNN confirms that doctors say he broke his right collarbone, and since it was a clean break it should make for a quick recovery.
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According to CNN: Doctors were determining whether the record seven-time Tour de France champion would need surgery said Jacinto Vidarte, spokesman for the Vuelta Ciclista Castilla y Leon race.
Armstrong could be out three to four weeks, Vidarte added, following a crash that involved a group of 15 to 20 riders some 20 kilometers from the finish."
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Cancer survivor and seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has been taken to a hospital what may be an injured collarbone after falling during the first stage of a five-day race in Spain, ABC News reports.
Lance has taken up cycling again, and was riding with the Astana team in the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon race. Spokesman Philippe Maertens says the Texan was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
CNN reports that a group of 15 to 20 riders fell, according to Bartosz Huzarski, a cyclist racing for the Italian team ISD. It appears that only Lance said he was hurt.
