Bettini ok after crash

After crashing Tuesday at the Six Days of Milan, Paolo Bettini assured followers on Wednesday that he would be fine. Bettini was taken to the hospital after crashing and hitting his head on a protective barrier, which broke his helmet. The Italian went down after Ukrainian Yaroslav Popovych fell in front of him.

"I still have pain in the neck and back, but everything is fine," Bettini told Ansa. "The most important thing for me is not having suffered major injuries in what is the last race of my career."

"The incident was terrible. I couldn't remember anything for a few minutes," said Bettini to Gazzetta dello Sport. "Compared to the consequences that I could have suffered, my present condition is reassuring."

The 34 year-old Bettini initially announced his retirement on the eve of the UCI World Championships road race in Varese, Italy, in September. The six day event was scheduled to be his last race.