Pereiro's permanent crash reminder

Oscar Pereiro will never forget his crash during the Tour de France this year, when he fell off the side of the road on a switchback in the mountains. And to make sure he remembers, he has had the date of the crash tattooed above the scar on his arm.

The accident occurred on stage 15, on the descent of the Colle d'Agnello. The Spaniard, who was named winner of the 2006 Tour, slid out on the rain-wet road and went over the barrier, tumbling five meters down a rocky embankment to the road below. Amazingly, he suffered only a broken arm.

The tattoo of the date, July 20, 2008, is directly above the 25 centimetre scar on his arm. "That is not an unlucky date for me," he said, according to Sportwereld. "It reminds me of how much luck I had that day instead of misfortune."

(With additional editorial assistance by Susan Westemeyer.)