BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
American rider Floyd Landis is in constant pain due to an injured hip that he said Monday will need to be replaced after he finishes the Tour de France.
Landis, one of the favorites to win this year's Tour, said the pain began after a crash in training in January 2003, when he fractured his right hip. The fracture cut off blood to the hip bone.
"Using it doesn't in any way increase the chance that it will be unusable later. It is already ruined," Landis told a news conference Monday, a rest day on the three-week Tour.
The 30-year-old Landis is currently second overall in the Tour, one minute behind Serhiy Honchar.
He had pins inserted for the fracture and has since had two more surgical procedures -- the last in 2004 -- to try to restore blood to the bone.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/specials/tour_de_france/2006/07/10/bc.cyc.tourdefrance.lan.ap/index.html
Landis, one of the favorites to win this year's Tour, said the pain began after a crash in training in January 2003, when he fractured his right hip. The fracture cut off blood to the hip bone.
"Using it doesn't in any way increase the chance that it will be unusable later. It is already ruined," Landis told a news conference Monday, a rest day on the three-week Tour.
The 30-year-old Landis is currently second overall in the Tour, one minute behind Serhiy Honchar.
He had pins inserted for the fracture and has since had two more surgical procedures -- the last in 2004 -- to try to restore blood to the bone.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/more/specials/tour_de_france/2006/07/10/bc.cyc.tourdefrance.lan.ap/index.html