Citing Russian media sources, news agency Reuters is reporting that Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel team-mate Viatcheslav Ekimov is definitely out of this year's Tour de France after a crash in training last week.
Ekimov, 39, crashed after hitting a pothole, sustaining injuries that included a fractured vertebra. "Doctors told me that it will take two months to recover," said Ekimov. "In any case I will miss the Tour this year. It's a pity because I really wanted to ride with Armstrong in his last Tour.
