Horner's season over due to broken ribs

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Chris Horner has brought the curtain down on his season after breaking his ribs in a crash during the world championships road race in Florence on Sunday. The RadioShack-Leopard rider had been due to compete at the Tour of Lombardy and Tour of Beijing.

“Everything went well in the last couple of months, except for the world championships,” Horner said. “Broken ribs are really painful and I'll be off the bike for at least two or three weeks. It's sad that I can't finish my season on a good note in Lombardy or China.”

The 41-year-old Horner had arrived at the world championships as an outsider for the rainbow jersey after claiming a surprise overall victory in the Vuelta a España ahead of Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde.

The American was one of a number of fallers on the rain-soaked opening lap of the Florence circuit on Sunday, however, and his Worlds challenge ended prematurely.

In spite of his unexpected success at the Vuelta, Horner is still without a contract for the 2014 season and last week he took the step of releasing his biological passport data in order to “allow fans to feel confident in his victory at the Vuelta a España and the current state of the sport of cycling.”

Previously, Horner had opted not to answer when asked by Cyclingnews if his was a redacted name in rider testimony published last year as part of USADA’s Reasoned Decision on the Lance Armstrong doping case.