Valladolid, Spain  - The lowly Vuelta of Castilla and Leon cleared up more issues than expected in the duel between US cycling legend Lance Armstrong and young Spaniard Alberto Contador for leadership of the Astana team.

Armstrong, 37, crashed in the first stage of the race and withdrew with a broken collarbone.

With the injury, he leaves team leadership to his challenger without a great show of force by either. More importantly, Armstrong's training is greatly jeopardized ahead of the Tour de France in July.

Valladolid, Spain  - Lance Armstrong broke his right collarbone when he fell Monday in the first stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon cycling race, the race's organizers confirmed.

The US cycling legend, 37, underwent tests at the Hospital Clinico in the northwestern Spanish city of Valladolid, but was set to leave hospital later Monday, after receiving treatment and painkillers to alleviate his condition, organizers added.

Valladolid, Spain  - Lance Armstrong broke his right collarbone when he fell Monday in the first stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon cycling race, the race's organizers confirmed.

The US cycling legend, 37, underwent tests at the Hospital Clinico in the northwestern Spanish city of Valladolid, but was set to leave hospital later Monday, after receiving treatment and painkillers to alleviate his condition, organizers added.

Madrid  - Forty-four Basque separatists face trial in Spain after a judge accused them of links with the militant separatist group ETA, judicial sources said Monday.

Judge Baltasar Garzon launched proceedings against 44 members of the banned Basque parties Batasuna, Basque Nationalist Action (ANV) and Communist Party of Basque Lands (PCTV).

The parties have been barred from elections on grounds of being related to ETA, which has killed more than 800 people since 1968.

Baltanas, Spain  - Lance Armstrong fell during the first stage of the Vue

Madrid - For years, Spain had struggled to be recognized as more than just a middle-ranking European power - as a "relevant global player," as Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero puts it.

But just as Spain had got its foot in the door of the G20, participating in meetings drafting global economic policy, its international reputation took a big blow over its unexpected decision to recall its troops from Kosovo.