Sánchez not ready to give up on Olympic gold defense yet

Cyclist Samuel Sánchez says he is not giving up yet on defending his Olympic road race title in London later this month, despite the injuries that forced him to abandon the Tour de France on Sunday.

"I will do everything possible to go to London, but let's see what happens," said the Euskaltel team rider after undergoing tests at a Bilbao clinic on Monday. "If I can go to the Games, I will; but if not, I need to get better."

Sánchez fractured his left collarbone and a finger on his right hand during a crash on Sunday's stage eight of the Tour from Belfort to the Swiss town of Porrentruy.

His doctors also explained that he had suffered "a cranial trauma with a momentary loss [...] of consciousness" during the accident. However, he showed no worrying signs and the results of a neurological exploration had been "completely normal," they said.

The Asturian will have to wait to see how his collarbone heals to see if he will be able to defend the 2008 road race gold he won in Beijing in the British capital on July 28.

Sánchez played down the significance of a run of bad luck that has affected the members of Spain's Olympic cycling team at this year's Tour de France.

Óscar Freire, José Joaquín Rojas, Alejandro Valverde and Luis León Sánchez have all hit the asphalt during this year's race.

With Alberto Contador serving a doping ban and not permitted to compete, Sánchez was one of Spain's few big hopes at this year's Tour.