LONDON — The 2010 Tour de France champion Andy Schleck pulled out of this year’s race due to a spine injury he sustained during the Criterium du Dauphine last week, but hopes to recover in time to compete at the London Olympics.

Schleck confirmed his withdrawal from cycling’s blue ribbon race at a news conference in Luxembourg ON Wednesday, a few hours after his parents told The Associated Press he would not be able to ride for at least five weeks.

Schleck said he found out on Tuesday that he’ll have to miss the Tour after undergoing an IRM which revealed the full extent of his injury.

“My world fell apart,” Schleck said. “I won’t win the Tour de France, I won’t even be in it. But now I have to look forward. I hope to be back for the Olympics.”

Schleck’s father told the AP in a phone interview earlier on Wednesday that his son is likely to miss the Olympic race as well.

“This is a very bad year, the Tour was his primary objective,” said Johny Schleck, the cyclist’s father, who is also a former professional rider, adding that his son will have to rest for three weeks.

“If he can ride again after that, he won’t have enough time to get ready for the Olympics,” he said.

The men’s Olympic race will take place on July 28, less than a week after the Tour ends on the Champs Elysees. The three-week race starts on June 30 in Liege, Belgium.

Schleck initially finished second in the 2010 Tour. He was awarded the title earlier this year after Alberto Contador was disqualified for doping.

Schleck is one of cycling’s strongest climbers. He abandoned the Dauphine race during the sixth stage, due to injuries he suffered in a crash two days before. His team initially said he suffered bruises on his right side and had an extremely sore rib.

According Tortsen Gerich, a doctor who spoke to reporters on Wednesday, Schleck’s injury should heal within four to six weeks.

“There is a fracture on his pelvis, but it’s not dislocated,” Gerish said. “He cannot ride a bike, because the fracture is exactly where you have the pressure from the saddle.”

Schleck has been considered one of the main contenders for the yellow jersey at the start of the season. He recently raised doubts about his ability to win the Tour due to injuries.

In March, he dropped out of Paris-Nice because of illness and was treated for knee problems in May.

“His morale is zero at the moment,” Johny Schleck said. “He wanted to win the Tour, although it would have been difficult this year.”

Schleck’s withdrawal from the Tour, and Alberto Contador’s absence through his doping suspension, now mean that the three-week race will be deprived of the world’s two best climbers.

The two rivals could lock horns in August during the Vuelta in Spain, where Schleck is planning to compete after the Olympics. He is also expected to line up at the world championships in September.

Here’s a press release from RadioShack Nissan Trek:

RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK rider Andy Schleck suffers from a fracture in the sacral body (segment S3) due to his crash in last Thursday’s time trial of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Schleck will be out for four to six weeks and will not be able to start in the Tour de France, the race in which he was set to start as one of the favorites.

At a press conference in La Maison des Sports in Luxembourg, Andy Schleck, accompanied by his personal medical doctor Charles Delagardelle and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Torsten Gerich from the Centre Hospitalier of Luxembourg, explained how a strong gust of wind picked his bike up off the ground during the time trial of June 7. Schleck continued the stage and finished with pain on Friday’s stage, but pulled out after 63 K in the Saturday stage.

“This is the biggest disappointment in my life,” said the three-time Tour de France podium finisher. “The Tour is the most important race. I feel sad for my dedicated teammates. I would have been ready to perform.

“I wanted to give an answer to my critics. As a bike rider you never stop believing in goals, in dreams. That’s why I also continued on the bike after my crash. I wanted to go on as I had the Tour in my head.

“I was always thinking that it would become better. Riders are hard. I remember Cadel Evans finishing the Tour once with broken ribs but in the end I really had to quit the race. In my career I’ve broken my collar bone twice but this is the most painful thing I’ve ever had so far.”

“It was immediately clear that Andy suffered a severe injury,” said Dr. Gerich. “A regular X-ray didn’t give us any information, but a MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging) revealed the fracture in segment S3 of the sacral body. This is a bone bruise. There is no dislocation, it will not compromise the stability of the pelvis, but it hurts terribly. We were more than surprised to see that Andy still raced with it.”

“I was there when Andy came to the car in that Saturday stage and it was obvious that there was something wrong,” said team manager Johan Bruyneel. “Andy suffered a lot but put the pain aside. He knew he had to go through the Dauphiné to be ready for the Tour de France. The fact that he went on for two stages really showed that he was determined to be as good as possible at the start of the Tour.

“Andy was supposed to be our designated leader for the Tour de France. This is a big blow for the morale of the entire team.”

The injury should take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. Andy hopes to resume his training rides earlier than that.

“In three weeks, I hope to ride,” continued Andy Schleck. “I need to stay fit. I am now at my Tour de France weight and I don’t want to gain weight as I am still ambitious for the end of the season. I hope to race the Olympics and I will go for the win in the Tour of Spain. Yesterday evening, two hours after I heard the verdict, I already studied the course of the Vuelta… The course suits me very well.”

Johan Bruyneel added: “Andy is a Grand Tour rider. The Vuelta course is better suited to him than the Tour de France course this year. There are a lot of mountaintop finishes and less time trial kilometers in the Spanish tour.”

“I will find there my friend Alberto Contador,” smiled Andy Schleck. “It’s going to be a nice race there. I am more motivated than ever before. After the Vuelta we also have the World Championships in Valkenburg. That profile suits me too, just as Lombardy does.

“After all my bad luck of this year I will come back stronger. I am 27 years old. I still have a lot of years in front of me. You haven’t heard the last of me yet.”

Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of the Franklin Ave. Baptist Church, greets congregation members during Sunday Services at the Church in New Orleans, Sunday, June 3, 2012. The new face of a Christian denomination that formed on the wrong side of slavery before the Civil War could be an African-American preacher who grew up in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. The Southern Baptist Convention holds its annual meeting in New Orleans next week and it could see the election of Luter as president. Faced with growing diversity in America and declining membership in its churches, the denomination is making a sincere effort to distance itself from its troubled racial past. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Gerald Herbert

Fans chase Leopard-Trek’s Andy Schleck up 12,095-foot Independence Pass during Stage 2 of the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Photo by Christian Murdock/The Gazette

Fans cheered for Andy Schleck of Leopard-Trek as he headed toward the finish during the Prologue of the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado Springs. Photo by Christian Murdock/The Gazette

Ivan Sekretarev

Andy Schleck, right, of Luxembourg, crossed the finish line with Alberto Contador, of Spain, on July 22, 2010, to win the 17th stage of the Tour de France. Photo by Bas Czerwinski, AP Photo