2006 winner Pereiro crashes out of Tour

PRATO NEVOSO, Italy — Oscar Pereiro of Spain pulled out of the Tour de France after breaking his shoulder in a crash Sunday.

The Caisse d'Epargne rider, winner of the 2006 Tour after Floyd Landis was stripped of his title for doping, was taken to a hospital in the town of Cuneo as the race headed into Italy for the 15th stage.

Pereiro crashed over a guard rail on the side of the road during a sharp turn around the 49.7-mile mark of the 113.7-mile trek from Embrun, France, to Prato Nevoso, the Tour's Web site said.

The Caisse d'Epargne rider had been in 15th place before Sunday's stage.

"He has pain down his left side. He is still in the hospital," his sporting director Eusebio Unzue said. "In the downhill, he hit a rider in front of him and went up in the air for four or five meters."

Unzue said the 31-year-old Pereiro was able to talk moments after his fall, and did not appear to suffer more serious injuries.

"Luckily, at no time did he lose consciousness," Unzue said. "He told me he had a lot of pain in his left shoulder, where he has two or three fractures."

Pereiro was awarded the 2006 Tour win retroactively after Landis tested positive for synthetic testosterone following a spectacular comeback stage.

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