Torrent out of Olympics

Spaniard Carlos Torrent will not be able to join his country's track team for the Olympic Games later this summer. The Madison partner of former World Champion Joan Llaneras crashed during the GP CTT Correios in Portugal last Friday, and returned to Spain on Sunday for surgery to repair a broken femur.

Didac Navarro, the national selector, has named Unai Elorriaga as Torrent's replacement in the country's Olympic pre-selection. He joins Sergi Escobar, Toni Tauler, Llaneras, David Muntaner, Asier Maeztu, Antonio Miguel and Leire Olaberría, the Royal Spanish Cycling Federation (RFEC) announced.

The news will come as a blow for Llaneras, who was grooming Torrent in the Madison after suffering the death of his long-time partner Isaac Gálvez in a crash at the Gent six day in November, 2006. Torrent had gone into the World Championships in Manchester earlier this year at less than full health after suffering another mishap, and the pair finished sixth in the Madison there.