Armstrong Crashes out of Tour of California

Lance Armstrong, who has been under intense media scrutiny over the alleged usage of performance enhancing drugs, crashed during the Tour of California along with several other riders on Thursday.

During the opening stages of the fifth stage, Armstrong crashed with several other riders, and needed eight stitches below his left eye, while the X-ray scans to his elbow turned out to be negative.  He continued for a while, but had to retire due to injuries, and withdrew from the event.

The overall lead was eventually grabbed by Australian Michael Rogers, who became the fourth new leader in five days. Rogers finished second in the race behind Peter Sagan of Slovakia in the 195.5 km stretch. American Dave Zabreskie is second, while Levi Leipheimer is third overall. Lance Armstrong remained twelfth overall.

Incidentally, Armstrong also crashed during the finishing stages of the fourth race, but was awarded the same time as the winner, because he had crashed during the last three kilometers of the race.

Fans around the world will be tracking his progress keenly, with an eye on the approaching Tour de France, where the seven time champion will look to continue his dominance.

Earlier, Armstrong strongly denied the allegations thrown at him by former team mate, Floyd Landis. Landis had been stripped of his Tour de France victory in 2006, after failing a doping test. After years of denial, Landis finally broke his silence on Wednesday, and accepted the claims that he had been using drugs since 2002. Armstrong had himself recruited Landis at US Postal, citing his experience and competitiveness as a mountain bike champion. Now Landis claims that this was the period when he learnt about the performance enhancing drugs.

When asked about the allegations, 38-year-old Armstrong said: “We have nothing to hide. With regards to the specific claims, they’re not worth getting into it.

“I’m not going to waste my time or your time. It’s our word against his word. I like our word.”

The Team Radioshack rider is no newcomer to allegations regarding drug usage, he has endured several during the last decade.