"Lance Armstrong crashed and fractured his right collarbone today in the opening day of the Castilla y León stage race in Spain. The American of team Astana retired from the stage via an ambulance to a hospital in Valladolid.
Astana Team doctor Pedro Celaya confirmed the injury. "Lance suffered a fracture of the middle third of the right collarbone as well as some bruises on his right hip and arm."
Armstrong, 37, was in the main group near kilometre 160 of the 176.3-kilometres stage from Paredes De Nava to Baltanás. His group was going at a fast pace over narrow roads in pursuit of the four-man escape. He came down with a group of around 30 riders.
"Two riders crashed in front of me and I was not able to avoid them," Armstrong said to La Gazzetta dello Sport Luigi Perna. "It the first time in my career I fractured my collarbone and I can tell you it hurts a lot."
Doctors verified that it is a clean fracture, meaning his recovery should be quick. Armstrong has made contact with specialists in the United States, and will return home to the States to make a decision as to whether or not he will have surgery to correct the break.
"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," said Armstrong.
Armstrong is preparing for the Giro d'Italia, May 9 to 31, and the Tour de France, July 4 to 26. He returned to the sport this year after a three-year retirement following his seventh Tour de France win.
"This is racing. Give me a few days to think about what I have to do. I am upset, it is a big problem ahead of the Giro d'Italia."
A broken collarbone typically needs four to six weeks for recovery, which would leave him in jeopardy for the Giro del Trentino, April 22 to 25. It would also compromise his form for the Giro d'Italia.
"I didn't see the crash," said Armstrong's former teammate Tom Danielson (Garmin-Slipstream) to Cyclingnews. "It was after a climb and [Alejandro] Valverde's team attacked in the crosswind. I think the whole peloton freaked out and people were doing dumb moves to try not to get dropped. That's what I bet caused the crash."!
On Wednesday the seven-time Tour de France champion had successful surgery on the injury he suffered in a racing accident on Monday, crashing on stage one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
Armstrong, 37, had a five-inch stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted in an effort to repair the collarbone, which was broken in four places.
A message on the rider's twitter feed from his manager confirmed the surgery had gone according to plan: "All went well. Lance is in recovery. Same guy just 12 screws in his collarbone."
Armstrong himself later wrote: "Howdy folks. Made it thru. Took longer than we thought. Playing with my kids right now. Making me feel A LOT better."
Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel reported: "Lance is out of surgery. It was a bit more complicated than initially thought, but everything went well. Time to look ahead again."
That time-frame would appear to put Armstrong's appearance in the Giro D'Italia in real jeopardy – the start of the race is less than seven weeks away on May 9.
Dr Doug Elenz, an Austin orthopaedic surgeon who frequently operates on athletes, performed the operation. "Normally we see eight to 12 weeks for something like this to heal completely."
The doctor stressed, though, that the estimation was for a complete mend, so the Astana rider is expected to be back on his bike sooner. Armstrong revealed before surgery that he still hopes to ride in the Giro, although he would surely not be competitive.
Armstrong's injury was more complex than first thought, the surgery taking almost three hours.
"If you had to pin me down, I'd say it [the surgery] was an eight [out of 10 for difficulty]," Dr Elenz added on Astana's official website.
Armstrong has been advised to rest for a week before starting aerobic training on a stationary exercise bike and finally getting back on the road.Dr Elenz said the progression of the cyclist's recovery would be monitored, with focus on radiographic union (evidence of bone growth), a stable fracture with no plate movement, increased arm motion and fluidity, as well as Armstrong's own pain factor.
During the height of his career Lance Armstrong was famous for taking every possible step to perfect his aerodynamic position on the bike because, during the Tour de France, "every second counts". Since his return to the sport, he has yet to dominate in the race against the clock. Insider sources have revealed to Cyclingnews that the American recently underwent a radical, secret surgery to alter his physique to help cheat the wind.
Following his crash in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, where Armstrong fractured his right collarbone, he flew back to his Austin, Texas home. Once back in Texas he had surgery - supposedly to repair the clavicle which, doctors insisted, was broken into four pieces.
Sources within the Armstrong camp explained that initial reports that the break was a single, clean fracture were true. But the seven-time Tour winner had been told he could shave seconds per kilometre off of his time trials if only his shoulders weren't so broad. The American decided that, since he faced several weeks of recovery from the broken bone anyhow, he might as well go through with a plan which would shorten both clavicles and narrow the width of his upper body.
Doctors cut out a section of the right clavicle before putting the bone back together with a plate and screws, then moved over to the previously intact left collarbone to duplicate the procedure. The surgery marks the first time an athlete has undergone such a radical surgery to gain a performance boost.
The extreme measure was taken with a view toward the Giro d'Italia's stage 12 time trial from Sestri Levante to Riomaggiore which, at 61.2km, is the longest individual test of Armstrong's career and could well be the decisive stage of the tour.
"We did everything we could in the wind tunnel to shave fractions of seconds off of Lance's times - Trek invented new technology to cheat the wind on the bike, Nike used space-age technology to create the world's most aerodynamic skinsuit... but there was no getting around the fact that Lance's frontal area was just bigger than other riders," a spokesman said.
"The surgeons took two centimeters off of both collarbones and then screwed the bones back together," he added. "With the titanium plates holding the bones in place, Lance is already cleared to get back on the trainer. He was so eager to find out how much more aerodynamic he is that we flew straight away to San Diego to do some tests in the wind tunnel. And boy, oh boy, all I can say is watch out!"
lappiesza
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"Lance Armstrong crashed and fractured his right collarbone today in the opening day of the Castilla y León stage race in Spain. The American of team Astana retired from the stage via an ambulance to a hospital in Valladolid.
Astana Team doctor Pedro Celaya confirmed the injury. "Lance suffered a fracture of the middle third of the right collarbone as well as some bruises on his right hip and arm."
Armstrong, 37, was in the main group near kilometre 160 of the 176.3-kilometres stage from Paredes De Nava to Baltanás. His group was going at a fast pace over narrow roads in pursuit of the four-man escape. He came down with a group of around 30 riders.
"Two riders crashed in front of me and I was not able to avoid them," Armstrong said to La Gazzetta dello Sport Luigi Perna. "It the first time in my career I fractured my collarbone and I can tell you it hurts a lot."
Doctors verified that it is a clean fracture, meaning his recovery should be quick. Armstrong has made contact with specialists in the United States, and will return home to the States to make a decision as to whether or not he will have surgery to correct the break.
"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," said Armstrong.
Armstrong is preparing for the Giro d'Italia, May 9 to 31, and the Tour de France, July 4 to 26. He returned to the sport this year after a three-year retirement following his seventh Tour de France win.
"This is racing. Give me a few days to think about what I have to do. I am upset, it is a big problem ahead of the Giro d'Italia."
A broken collarbone typically needs four to six weeks for recovery, which would leave him in jeopardy for the Giro del Trentino, April 22 to 25. It would also compromise his form for the Giro d'Italia.
"I didn't see the crash," said Armstrong's former teammate Tom Danielson (Garmin-Slipstream) to Cyclingnews. "It was after a climb and [Alejandro] Valverde's team attacked in the crosswind. I think the whole peloton freaked out and people were doing dumb moves to try not to get dropped. That's what I bet caused the crash."!
On Wednesday the seven-time Tour de France champion had successful surgery on the injury he suffered in a racing accident on Monday, crashing on stage one of the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon.
Armstrong, 37, had a five-inch stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted in an effort to repair the collarbone, which was broken in four places.
A message on the rider's twitter feed from his manager confirmed the surgery had gone according to plan: "All went well. Lance is in recovery. Same guy just 12 screws in his collarbone."
Armstrong himself later wrote: "Howdy folks. Made it thru. Took longer than we thought. Playing with my kids right now. Making me feel A LOT better."
Astana general manager Johan Bruyneel reported: "Lance is out of surgery. It was a bit more complicated than initially thought, but everything went well. Time to look ahead again."
That time-frame would appear to put Armstrong's appearance in the Giro D'Italia in real jeopardy – the start of the race is less than seven weeks away on May 9.
Dr Doug Elenz, an Austin orthopaedic surgeon who frequently operates on athletes, performed the operation. "Normally we see eight to 12 weeks for something like this to heal completely."
The doctor stressed, though, that the estimation was for a complete mend, so the Astana rider is expected to be back on his bike sooner. Armstrong revealed before surgery that he still hopes to ride in the Giro, although he would surely not be competitive.
Armstrong's injury was more complex than first thought, the surgery taking almost three hours.
"If you had to pin me down, I'd say it [the surgery] was an eight [out of 10 for difficulty]," Dr Elenz added on Astana's official website.
Armstrong has been advised to rest for a week before starting aerobic training on a stationary exercise bike and finally getting back on the road.Dr Elenz said the progression of the cyclist's recovery would be monitored, with focus on radiographic union (evidence of bone growth), a stable fracture with no plate movement, increased arm motion and fluidity, as well as Armstrong's own pain factor.
Lance talking about his injurys.
Armstrong perfects aero position with surgery
By Lorne Wisely
Was this Lance's only operation?
During the height of his career Lance Armstrong was famous for taking every possible step to perfect his aerodynamic position on the bike because, during the Tour de France, "every second counts". Since his return to the sport, he has yet to dominate in the race against the clock. Insider sources have revealed to Cyclingnews that the American recently underwent a radical, secret surgery to alter his physique to help cheat the wind.
Following his crash in the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon, where Armstrong fractured his right collarbone, he flew back to his Austin, Texas home. Once back in Texas he had surgery - supposedly to repair the clavicle which, doctors insisted, was broken into four pieces.
Sources within the Armstrong camp explained that initial reports that the break was a single, clean fracture were true. But the seven-time Tour winner had been told he could shave seconds per kilometre off of his time trials if only his shoulders weren't so broad. The American decided that, since he faced several weeks of recovery from the broken bone anyhow, he might as well go through with a plan which would shorten both clavicles and narrow the width of his upper body.
Doctors cut out a section of the right clavicle before putting the bone back together with a plate and screws, then moved over to the previously intact left collarbone to duplicate the procedure. The surgery marks the first time an athlete has undergone such a radical surgery to gain a performance boost.
The extreme measure was taken with a view toward the Giro d'Italia's stage 12 time trial from Sestri Levante to Riomaggiore which, at 61.2km, is the longest individual test of Armstrong's career and could well be the decisive stage of the tour.
"We did everything we could in the wind tunnel to shave fractions of seconds off of Lance's times - Trek invented new technology to cheat the wind on the bike, Nike used space-age technology to create the world's most aerodynamic skinsuit... but there was no getting around the fact that Lance's frontal area was just bigger than other riders," a spokesman said.
"The surgeons took two centimeters off of both collarbones and then screwed the bones back together," he added. "With the titanium plates holding the bones in place, Lance is already cleared to get back on the trainer. He was so eager to find out how much more aerodynamic he is that we flew straight away to San Diego to do some tests in the wind tunnel. And boy, oh boy, all I can say is watch out!"
A friend sent me this.....yesterday. The date was April 1st.
blurredgirl