Hayden Roulston hopes the knee he injured racing in Italy over night will not stop him racing in the Spanish Grand tour, the Vuelta a España, in ten days time.

The 200 kilometre Tre Valli Varesine was marred by a crash involving a number of riders but Roulston is clear, he wants to still be on the start line for the seasons last Grand Tour in Spain.

“There are no broken bones so I still hope to race the Vuelta,” he said.

The crash happened with 40 kilometres to go after riders in front of the Kiwi rider crashed into a barrier.

“We were full gas and the barriers were in the middle of the road – it was a mass pile up of riders.”

Roulston’s knee required 18 stitches and today he was flying to Hamburg where his HTC-Columbia team doctors planned to have a good look at the deep gash to his leg.

“There is a big gaping hole so I want to get the leg looked after and plan things from there. There is a still lot to look forward to.”

The double Olympic medallist is in the New Zealand team for the Commonwealth Games in India in October and is a likely starter at the UCI World Road Championships in Melbourne Australia on October 3.

He is also lining up in the Powernet Tour of Southland in early November.