Spanish cyclist Contador feared could have died during 2014 Tour de France crash

Spanish cycling ace Alberto Contador has revealed that he might have died at this year's Tour de France crash.

Contador, who broke his right tibia, or shinbone, during the Tour's 10th stage, and eventually gave up after riding on for nearly 20 kilometres, said that when he thinks he was going 77 kilometres-per-hour at the time and only broke his tibia, on balance, that's good.

Contador said that maybe he lost the Tour, but added that he didn't lose his life, The BBC reported.

Contador's exit came less than a week after 2013 winner Chris Froome was also forced to retire injured following three crashes in two days.

The two rivals had come into the sport's biggest race as joint favourites, but while Froome's withdrawal was dramatic it lacked the genuine risk of serious injury that Contador's crash entailed.

The Spaniard was a third of his way into the 161.5-kilometer stage through the Vosges Mountains when he came down hard on a fast, straight descent made trickier by rain.

Contador admitted that the crash was his fault but denied he was trying too hard to make up time lost earlier in the race. He said that a lot of people have spoken about the crash and said things that aren't true, adding that what he would say is one has got to concentrate for every second on the bike or they won't win the Tour.