Aussie Cadel Evans has declared he is 'sapped of strength' after riding the final 12 stages of this year's Tour De France with a fractured elbow.
Evans injured himself on stage eight in the same incident which forced compatriot Simon Gerrans to quit the tour and has been racing on in agony ever since.
A credible 26th placing in the overall standings was the end result for Evans who had hoped to challenge Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck for the yellow jersey.
"I've had my (tough) moments here. Sometimes racing a bike is the easy part of getting through a Tour with the problems I've had. Your body has to put so much work into recovering bones and I don't have the energy left to physically recover from the work," an exhausted Evans told Foxsports.
"I'm sapped of strength. Everyday I'm getting more and more fatigued."
Evans, winner of the red jersey at the 2010 Giro D'Italia, spoke about his long year which included more build-up races than normal in the lead up to the Tour to ensure his BMC Racing Team would earn a spot.
"I've had a long year. I'm happy with the year I've had and it's been an honour and a pleasure to honour the rainbow jersey (world champion jersey). I've had a good presence and been fighting it out for stages all year, from the Tour Down Under to the Giro (D'Italia) and even here. Until that crash I wasn't doing too bad here," Evans said when asked to reflect on his 2010.
Despite the obvious mental and physical toll the 2010 Tour De France has taken on Evans, he said that his battle for top spot with Alberto Contador in 2008 was his 'hardest tour'.
Evans 26th placing put him ahead of fellow Australians Michael Rogers in 37th and Matthew Lloyd who finished 47th.
Rogers, who finished ninth in 2006, is set to quit the Tour after failing to meet expectations. He had hoped for a top-ten finish but the Tour of California winner will now turn his attention to shorter races.
"My win in California was very positive and I'm proud of the win. I'll concentrate on the short stage races, you know, races of one week. I tried this year. But I have to accept the fact that I just don't recover in that last week like some other guys do," Rogers said.
"The Tour is the pinnacle of the sport and there's not many riders who can perform well. There's only a handful that can do it, and I can accept I'm not one of them. I can still have a great career winning shorter stages races."