Crash halts Dean's Olympic hopes

Kiwi cyclist Julian Dean's dream of a fifth Olympics is over after crashing into a parked car on stage three of the Tour of Catalunya.

Dean has broken his tibia and fibula and is on his way to hospital in Valencia.

His wife Carol says it's a massive blow.

"The doctor, based on the information he had, he said we're looking at three to six months so there's definitely no Giro, definitely no Tour, no Olympics. Because you can't go to the Olympics without going to the Tour first, it's the best preparation."

Carol Dean admits at the age of 37, Julian Dean's cycling career could be over.

"Just goes through your mind when these things happen because we've done it enough times now to know how gruelling the rehab is afterwards. It's a really hard process to go through after the accident and we've got the two kids now too so that's even more added into the equation."

Photo: Julian Dean (Photosport)