Contador won't need surgery for Tour-ending injury

Madrid, July 16 (IANS/EFE) Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador will not need surgery to repair the broken tibia that forced him to abandon the 2014 Tour de France, a trauma surgeon said.

Instead of surgery, Contador will undergo a "conservative" course of treatment, Dr. Manuel Leyes said Tuesday after examining the two-time Tour winner at Madrid's Clinica Cemtro, reports Efe.

Contador might be able to resume training in 10 days, the physician said.

The rider's goal is to be fit again in time to participate in the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain), which begins Aug 23.

The crash that forced the Spaniard out of this year's Tour de France came during Monday's 10th stage of the competition amid heavy rain in the Vosges mountains.

Contador, 31, took a tumble while peddling at a speed of around 70 kmph (43 mph) on the descent from Petit Ballon, a Category 1 climb.

"After the crash, Alberto got back on the bike and tried for about 18 kilometres to keep himself in the race. Despite his best efforts and an impressive show of willpower, he had to abandon the race," Bjarne Riis, manager of Contador's Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, said.

Contador arrived in Madrid Tuesday aboard a private plane belonging to the team's owner, Russian businessman Oleg Tinkov.

The cyclist chose Clinica Cemtro on the recommendation of the medical staff of Real Madrid football club. His friend Emilio Butragueno, a former star striker with the Blancos, put Contador in touch with the squad's doctors.

Contador, the winner of the 2007 and 2009 tours, became the second major contender to abandon the 2014 Tour of France due to injury, joining the 2013 champion, Britain's Chris Froome, who dropped out last week after suffering three falls in two days.

The Spaniard, ninth in the overall standings at the beginning of Monday's stage, was expected to challenge for the lead as the three-week-long race moved into the high mountains.

--IANS/EFE

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