Lance Armstrong has a severely bruised left elbow and as 1.2-inch swollen cut under his left eye as a result of his crash earlier today in the fifth stage of the Tour of California. Armstrong had tried to keep riding after the crash but finally had to quit because his eye was swollen shut. He had X-rays taken, and they revealed no fractures.
“It was a shame to have to abandon early and not be able to help Levi [Leipheimer] to another victory,” Armstrong says in a press release from Team RadioShack. “It was one of those crashes that put a bunch of us down. I tried to give it a go but my eye was swollen so I couldn't see properly and the pain in the elbow prevented me from holding the bars for the remainder of the stage. It was a relief to learn there were no breaks. I will take a few days to recover and be on the bike as soon as possible.”
–Aileen Torres