He came out of retirement to continue his super-human winning streak, but world champion cyclist Lance Armstrong proved that he’s human after all. Armstrong was hospitalized this morning after crashing during a race in Spain.

Lance Armstrong’s first professional race on European soil since winning his last Tour de France has proved tougher than anyone expected – the cyclist was hospitalized in Spain Monday after crashing during the first stage of a five-day race.

Armstrong, who was caught in a pile-up about 12.5 miles form the stage’s finish in La Vuelta de Castilla y Leon, may have injured his collarbone, and appeared to be in considerable pain as he was helped into an ambulance headed to the Rio Carrion hospital in Palencia, the Associated Press reports. Some reports say he has withdrawn from the race.

Armstrong’s comeback after more than three years in retirement was already looking less than auspicious over the weekend. He placed only 125th on Saturday, and was racing as a 37-year-old competing against riders as much as 15 years younger than he is. He’d publicly called the three-day leg that began Monday “a true test to know where I am.”

Still, he encouraged fans to have realist expectations. “People think that somehow the same rider they saw in July, 2005 is miraculously going to be the same rider that they see again in March, 2009. It isn’t so,” he told reporters.

When Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France in 2005, he was considered among the finest riders to have ever competed, a recognition only burnished by the fact he won all but two after an astounding recovery from testicular cancer. In September 2008, he announced he was coming out of retirement and planned to compete in the 2009 Tour de France.

[From People]

As someone who fractured my collarbone as a kid - it was a WWF-inspired stunt gone wrong - I can tell you that it is incredibly painful. But this certainly isn’t the worst thing Armstrong’s had to endure. He’s tough! I’m sure that an injured collarbone is nothing compared to battling testicular cancer. Or pretending that you think Kate Hudson is a brilliant conversationalist. Hopefully he’ll pull through, so he can finish the race. Armstrong really does belong on his bike, and not having lunch with 20-something actresses at the Ivy.

Lance Armstrong is pictured at the Nike Sportswear launch in Los Angeles on March 6. Photo credits: WENN.