Ekimov can't help Armstrong win his last Tour de France

If Lance Armstrong is going to win a record-enhancing seventh Tour de France this year, he'll have to do it without Discovery Channel Pro Cycling teammate Viatcheslav Ekimov — a competitor and compatriot for many years.

The Russian bicycle racer fell during a training ride with Armstrong over the weekend. He broke his collarbone and fractured his spine; doctors told him he wouldn't recover in time for the Tour de France in July, Reuters reports.

Still in the US after competing together in the Tour de Georgia in April, Ekimov was riding with Armstrong on Saturday near Armstrong's hometown of Austin. Ekimov had stopped for a moment and was racing back to the group when he hit a hole in the road and fell. He was treated and released from a hospital in Austin and is now recuperating at his home in St. Petersburg.

As a member of the US Postal team in 1997 and 1998, then returning in 2000, Ekimov played a big part in most of Armstrong's Tour de France wins. Even in the recent Tour de Georgia, Ekimov was the last teammate to drop off as Armstrong raced for an attempted win in the second stage.

Unlike many European cyclists, Ekimov is no stranger to racing in the US. If I looked hard enough, I could probably still find him mentioned on an old videotape from an ESPN broadcast of the Tour Dupont. As I recall, commentator Phil Liggett said Ekimov was the time trial specialist that Armstrong would have to learn to beat.

A more authoritative source than my memory, France-Cyclisme.com, reports Ekimov competed as an amateur for the USSR in the Tour de Trump in 1989, when he won a stage. He won another stage when he returned in 1990 with the Panasonic team. As a member of Novell, he finished second in the Tour DuPont in 1995 to the overall winner, Armstrong

Losing Ekimov isn't only a blow to Armstrong, but it's also a blow to many older cyclists who race vicariously through one of their own — Ekimov is 39. Missing the Tour this year also means he won't tie the mark for most Tour appearances (15) set by Joop Zoetemelk, whose last Tour was in 1986.

Despite so many years in cycling, Ekimov hadn't slowed down. He won a silver medal in the individual time trial in the 2004 Summer Games in Athens; American cyclist Tyler Hamilton (who is facing a two-year suspension for doping) won the gold.