U.S. cyclist Christian Vande Velde is abandoning the Tour de France because of injuries he suffered in Stage 2 on Monday.
Two other cyclists for Garmin-Transitions — Tyler Farrar and Julian Dean — also are bandaged, but will take the starting line for Stage 3.
They're all victims of extremely slippery conditions on the descent of Col Stockeu that took down dozens of riders in the peloton, among them General Classification contenders Lance Armstrong (Radio Shack) and brothers Andy and Frank Schleck (Saxo Bank).
Bad luck
This is rotten luck for Vande Velde, who has been injured a lot in crashes this season. The 34-year-old broke his collarbone in early May at the Giro d'Italia. When it mended, he came back and broke three ribs at the Tour de Suisse in June.
In his crash descending Col Stockeu, he suffered two more broken ribs as well as a cut on his left eyelid that required stitches. He says that he might have hit a pole or something when he landed in the ditch. Vande Velde said he also crashed before the Stockeu mayhem when he couldn't avoid a cyclist who fell in front of him. He got right back on the bike, however, and felt fine.
He's quoted at the Garmin website:
“No one wants to leave the Tour de France. I worked really hard to get myself ready to be here again and I was just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m indescribably disappointed to not be starting tomorrow.”
Teammates injured
Teammate Farrar broke his left wrist, sprained his left elbow and suffered other cuts and bruises. The sprint specialist from Wenatchee, Washington, said he rode the final 30 kilometers with his right hand, while he laid his injured left hand on the handlebars.
Dean suffered a large bruise on his back, and David Millar suffered a possible broken rib.
“… carnage that was Tour de France peloton…”
Millar crashed three times, the first time with Vande Velde and the next two times on the Stockeu. He writes in the Millar Diaries at the Garmin website:
“Within only 200 meters of cresting I could see Lance fall about ten places in front of me on a straight road. When I saw that happen I knew something wasn’t right — and that was immediately followed by my wheels disappearing from under me and my sliding across the ground.
“As I came to a standstill, Christian passed and asked if I was all right, to which I replied yes and got right back on my bike. At this point there were guys everywhere on the ground all around me.
“Only 200 meters after getting back on my bike I was faced with a Cofidis rider losing control in front of me. There was nothing I could do and I hit him and somersaulted over my handlebars, landing heavily on my ribs in a ditch thinking this time.
“I wasn’t fine.
“I got up and fixed my bike myself, and then I tip-toed down the descent surveying the absolute carnage that was the Tour de France peloton and wondering what was going on.”
New strategy
The loss of Vande Velde will change the team's goal of winning the Tour de France. Vande Velde was the team leader and expected to do well in the General Classification. He finished in 4th place in 2008 and 8th place in 2009.
Now the team will shoot for stage victories, although with injuries to sprinters Farrar and Dean, that might also prove difficult. The two face an arduous Stage 3 on Tuesday that passes over seven sections of cobblestones.
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