The last week’s training accident left Christopher Horner with punctured lung, four fractures, numerous bruises and no chance to contest the Giro d’Italia where he was supposed to be a leader of the Lampre-Merida team. However, while leaving the hospital, the 42-year old American revealed Gazzetta dello Sport that his highly unfortunate collision with a car could have had far more dramatic consequences.

According to the Italian sports newspaper, Horner collided with a Range Rover while negotiating a dark tunnel during his training ride around Lake Como. The 70-year old driver didn’t stop the car to help the Lampre-Merida rider, claiming we wasn’t aware of what had happened, but has been identified via video evidence and thank to a mirror left at the accident.

Horner insists that he believes that driver and has no recollections from the collision.

"I believe him, I want to believe him. It was just a moment of bad luck," he said after leaving the Lecco hospital with his wife Megan on Wednesday afternoon.

"I was training and went into a dark, narrow tunnel. But I don’t remember anything about the crash, I only remember when I came round, I was at the other end of the tunnel."

"If another car or a truck had gone through the tunnel when I crashed, I'd be dead. I was lucky. In a moment of bad luck, I was very lucky."

Once again Vuelta a Espana champion confirmed he will not participate in the Giro d ‘Italia, but his appearance in both Tour de France and Spanish grand tour remains possible. Horner would hope to support Lampre-Merida leader Rui Costa in the former and successfully defend his title in the latter event.

"I'll be off the bike for a couple of weeks, then I'll ride the rollers and then I'll get back on the road. I won’t ride the Giro but perhaps I'll ride the Tour and then the Vuelta, to defend my title. But we've still got to decide everything."

"It's a real pity to miss the Giro d'Italia because I was starting to feel good and feel on form. I'd been studying the climbs and was going to ride the Giro del Trentino, which would have made me ready for the Giro."
 

Known to be passionate about cycling despite his age, the 42-year old American revealed that he intends to continue his professional career beyond 2014.

"Age is just a concept. 42 or almost 43 can mean you're old or mean you're still young. It's up to you, how you feel, your motivation, your dreams and desires. Look at Jens Voigt. He's full of strength, energy and enthusiasm and he's a month older than me."

"The important thing is keep riding and be up there with the best. If you can do it, your age is only a detail, a statistic. I don’t know what I'll do when I stop racing. I really want to race for another two or three years."