Injured Loeb to miss Turkey rally

Paris:

Two-time defending World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb broke his arm on Wednesday in a mountain bike accident and will miss next month's Rally of Turkey. The Citroen driver fractured his arm in four places after falling from his bike at an undisclosed place in France, according to the World Rally Championship website. "It is a really tough blow,'' Loeb said on his Web site. "I was going down a dirt track in a forest and my front wheel got stuck. I went over the handlebars and landed on my shoulder.'' Citroen boss Marc van Dalen said Loeb will miss the October 13-15 rally, but didn't name his replacement. "He underwent surgery on Wednesday and will not be available to compete in Turkey,'' said Dalen. "We can't really look beyond that at the moment. We feel bad for him because he's an exceptional individual.'' On Sunday, Loeb won the Cyprus Rally to earn a record 28th career victory. He has now won eight of the 12 rounds in the series and leads Marcus Gronholm of Finland by 35 points with four races left.(AP)