Cycling Tweets of the week

"Was looking at the start list at Tour de L'Ain. There is a kid here born in 1990. I did my first race in 1985 ... ... All you master racers, burn a candle for me, maybe two just in case." @hornerakg (Chris Horner, Aug. 10).

Cycling's tweet of the week

Chris Horner, Astana Professional Cycling Team, (@hornerakg), June 11, 8:26 p.m.

"On my way to Aspen. Just rode through thunder, lightning, rail, hail. And now having dinner at the Meat Hook in Burns, Oregon."

Horner has 'stable fracture of the tibia,' still hopes to start Tour

Bend resident Chris Horner suffered injuries in his Giro d'Italia crash that are more serious than originally believed. The Astana rider and Lance Armstrong teammate reported today on his Twitter page that an MRI revealed he suffered a "stable fracture of the tibia," but he still hopes to start the Tour in July.

Horner crashed during a descent in the Italian Grand Tour's May 19 Stage 10. He finished the stage and had hoped to start the next day but awoke to terrible pain in his leg, making it too painful to walk. Horner quit the Giro and returned to Bend to recover and prepare for the start of the Tour De France July 5-27.

Horner reported Tuesday that his leg was sore during and after a two-plus-hour training ride and that he hoped to learn more today.

Armstrong, Horner and the Big O, oh my!

The Oregonian's website may have seen a spike in traffic this morning when Lance Armstrong's 770,000+ Twitter followers got a message from the seven-time Tour de France winner to check out Astana teammate and Bend resident Chris Horner's Tour of the Gila race report on OregonLive.

From Horner's report:

"I can't say how excited I am to be starting the Giro next Saturday in Italy. I feel like we are going to take the excellent motivation and momentum that we are gaining this week over with us to Europe. With how strong our three-man team has been, I can't wait to see what a full nine-man squad can do when we meet up with the rest of our Astana teammates in Italy."

Check out the rest HERE.

Spanish cops stop Horner for no helmet

(photo/GETTY IMAGES)

Professional cyclist Chris Horner had a brief encounter Tuesday with Spanish police over his choice of headwear, or lack thereof, while training on the Canary Islands.

The Associated Press reported that Horner, a Bend, Ore., resident who rides in Europe for Lance Armstrong's Astana team, was training with the seven-time Tour de France winner and the rest of the squad when a police cruiser pulled over the pack of riders.

After a routine identification check on Horner, the team pedaled away. Horner kept riding without a helmet because professional cyclists are not required to wear one in Spain.

The weeklong team training camp opened Sunday.