The brave prediction was made last night by the Olympic pursuit bronze medallist as he lay in a critical but stable condition in a Pennsylvania hospital.
Anderson, one of New Zealand's big medal hopes at the Kuala Lumpar Commonwealth Games next month, punctured both lungs and smashed five ribs at the weekend in a race smash at an American track carnival.
According to Kiwi track coach, Ron Cheatley, Anderson lost his grip on his bars as he was about to sling his madison partner, and turned almost 90 degrees onto the infield crashing into the victory podium at race speed.
Cheatley believes the 30 year-old would have died if it had not been for the prompt action of the Allentown Veledrome medical team.
Anderson is New Zealand's most successful cyclist, winning eight Commonwealth Games medals between 1986 and 1990 and New Zealand's only Olympic track medal in 1992. But since then his career has been fraught with pain; he underwent heart surgery after collapsing during a race two years ago.
1. Micheal Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 2. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 0.10 3. Bobby Julich (USA) Cofidis 0.10
Forst, Poland, European Stayers Championships 1. Brand (Swi) gangmaker Aebi 1.01.02 2. Rol (Ned) Durst at 10 metres 3. Kops (Ned) Fack at 2 laps 4. Jörg (Swi) Buchmann at 5 laps 5. Klare (Ger) Gessler at 6 laps Netherlands, Afferden, Ronde van Noord-Limburg: 1. Van Schalen (Bakel) 180 km in 4.48.10 2. Stam (Koog a/d Zaan) 3. Wopke Veenstra (Harkema) 0.10 4. Bouten (Venlo) 5. Van de Akker (Veldhoven) 0.25 Netherlands, Papendrecht: 1. Edward Farenhout (Spijkenisse) 100 km in 2.17.10 2. Bastiaanse (Hoogerheide) 3. Zuijderwijk (Poeldijk) Netherlands, Varik: Men: 1. Godert de Leeuw (Ermelo) 100 km in 2.18.47 2. Van Pelt (Gerwen) 3. Boelen (Drunen) Women: 1. Van Moorsel (Rotterdam) 70 km in 1.41.12 2. Grimberg (Almelo) 3. Mansveld (Gasselternijveen) Netherlands, Zevenbergen: Men: 1. Bastiaanse (Hoogerheide) 100 km in 2.18.01 2. Heeren (Sprundel) 3. Bothof (Zwijndrecht) Women: 1. Mansveld 70 km in 1.40.14 2. Van Moorsel 3. Grimberg USA, Sierra Nevada, World Cup Downhill: Men: 1. Vouilloz (Fra) 4.31.83 2. Misser (Spa) 5.48 3. Sharples (Aus) 5.88 Men's Standings: 1. Vouilloz (Fra) 336 points 2. Vazquez (Spa) 325 3. Gracia (Fra) 281 Women: 1. Chausson (Fra) 5.04.64 2. Donovan (USA) 0.93 3. Streb (USA) 7.48 Women's Standings: 1. Chausson (Fra) 250 points 2. Giove (USA) 201 3. Donovan (USA) 153 Germany, Bochum, Spakassen-Giro, 128 kms: 1. Jan Ullrich (Ger) Telekom-ARD 2.58.26 2. Grischa Niermann (Ger) Die Continentale 3. Roberto Lochowski (Ger) Bunte Berte Condor 0.29 4. Marco Cannone (Ita) Denmark, Charlottenlund, Ritter Classic, 110 kms: 1. Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno 2.54.41 2. Tayeb Braikia (Den) Acceptcard Pro Cycling 0.09 3. Michael Sandstod (Den) Team Chicky World 4. Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno 5. Anders Kristensen (Den) ABC s.t.
The Belgian national coach, Marc Sergeant, however, does not agree with Merckx and will try to get Axel to change his mind. In the coming week, Merckx (who lives in the tax haven of Monte Carlo) will make major decisions about his future. He has been offered the team leadership of Lotto and also Mapei is expected to make him an offer. He has said that the two offers are equivalent in financial terms. "My choice will be purely on sporting grounds", he said.
* Police Protection for Casino: The Casino team in Spain for the Clasica San Sebastian were afforded a police guard overnight at their hotel in Lasarte. There were fears that the current state of tension between France and Spain following the drugs troubles in the Tour de France might lead to reprisals against the team.
* Peter Van Petegem Gets Subpoena: TVM rider Peter Van Petegem has been summoned to give evidence to a judge in Gent about the 1991 PDM affair. The Belgian rider was a member of the team when it was struck by a mysterious mass incapacity in that year's Tour de France. Festina team doctor Eric Ryckaert, currently remanded in Douai, France, as part of the investigation into Festina's use of drugs, was then PDM team doctor.
* Vuelta in France? As Yet Undecided: The organisers of next month's Vuelta a Espana are as yet undecided as to whether they will change the route of Stage 13 of the race (Sabinanigo--Sabinanigo) whose route goes 80km into France. Their fear is apparently not so much that the French police will halt the peloton and bother the riders as that they might make an aggressive search of team vehicles parked by the road, since one of the stage's feed zones is in French territory as the route stands at the moment.
* Rabobank Eschew Plouay: Dutch team Rabobank has told GP Ouest France organiser Jean-Yves Perron that it will not take part in the race on 30 August. The team fears that participation in the popular Cat 1.1 race at Plouay in Britanny might expose it to the possibility of poice harassment.
* Amongst the preliminary analysis of the products that were confiscated from TVM's team truck, the presence of forbidden products has now been confirmed.
* Alex Zulle has now said he will be riding in the Vuelta a España, which starts in Córdoba on San Sebastián, said he was now back on track. It was also stated that the Spanish owner of the Festina team, Miguel Rodríguez will continue with the team until the end of the season with the same group of riders. Zulle told the press: "Rodríguez pays me to compete and I want to completely concentrate in my job. I want to be the same that I was before. I have it in my mind to la Vuelta, even though it was not past of my plans at the start of the season".
* Cees Priem and Jaan Moors (soigneur) of the TVM team who were locked up in Reims during the Tour de France (on July 23 and August 2, respectively) have been freed on Monday evening. Their lawyer, Joost Van Mierlo announced this to the Dutch press agency, ANP.
He told the press: "It is a complete surprise, but a nice surprise."
The two men were met by members of their family but will not be able to return to the Netherlands immediately. They have been released on conditions that they do not leave French territory. They still have questions to answer.
No replacement is yet announced. US Postal with a great team in Denmark are by the way rated as the big favourites among the riders in the peloton.