Archive for August, 2010

Well, it’s been a very long three weeks since my accident in Italy, and while the forced rest period was nice, I have been suffering some serious withdrawal for a while now.  Today was the big day to head into the hosiptal and have the cast removed.  I have been excited like a boy in a candy shop for days now, and could hardly contain myself when I woke up this morning.

After a few x-rays and an MRI, it was time to see the specialist.  The first thing he did was to chop the cast right off.  As good as it felt to be off, I knew right away something wasn’t as I had seen it happening in my head countless times.  That’s when the doctor came back saying there was good and bad news.  The bad:  I have to remain in a leg brace for another 3 weeks.  This was devistating and completely unexpected, as everything felt so good for the last week and a bit.  There’s no point in trying to rush it though, so I am trying to just suck it up and get on with my time.

The good news is I can at least start some physio to regain some strength and mobility.  He’s going to allow me to bend my knee 15 degrees every week to stretch the muscles back out, and there will also be some strengthening exercies to build some muscle back.  I guess in hind sight I let myself get way too excited, even planning a short ride for this afternoon, and that just made the news that much harder.  I’m fortunate that I have so much time before my next important races – not until next year, so I can take my time and do things properly.  It’s important to see the big picture in a situation like this, and I know that I could do more damage from rushing things.  It’s just killing me to sit around and not be out on the bike!

Stay tuned for reports on physio and the healing process, as well as news about next year.  Hoping to have some exciting posts in the near future!

Well, as most of you know I’m in Italy right now for the World Junior Championships.  Yesterday was the first event, where Kris and I would be breaking out the TT rigs to take on the World’s best of a pseudo course which would test every aspect of a rider’s ability.  It had everything from tough climbs, fast flat sections, and a wicked technical descent.

My day started with an early rise, very excited for the day’s race.  After a good breakfast, I spent the morning listening to music, watching some videos that my teammates found to help get me pumped up (really cool versus ad), and some light stretching.  I don’t think I had ever felt as good about a race as I had yesterday.  I knew I was as ready as I could be.  I knew what I needed to do, and I just wanted to get on the road and rip it up.

We got to the venue and things were going great.  I got in a solid warm up, with my legs turning over the gears with the greatest of ease.  With 20 minutes before my start, it was time to head over to the “cage”, the waiting area where you have to stay after getting your bike checked and before your start.  Soon enough, I was on the start ramp hearing the familiar beeps that count you down from 5 seconds to go.  After the long beep at the end, I was on the road.  I got things going and just starting ticking the gear over with no sensation of pain or discomfort whatsoever.  It was almost like I was in a dream, just watching my body propel the bike forward, but not actually feeling the effort required to do so.  It was absolutely magical how strong I felt, and every pedal stroke I gained more and more confidence.  Within the space of the first km, I went from having my goal a top 10 finish, to a top 5, and then I said what the hell, go for the win today!

To do this, I knew I would have to take risks on the descent, but I was happy with an all or nothing attitude for this one, so I just went for it.  I cruised through the corners to the absolute limit of the friction between my racing tires and the rough road.  My rear wheel was just keeping contact as I carved around the corners, but that’s all I needed.  I was going so fast down this thing that the motorcycle intended to lead a ways in front of me couldn’t keep up.  I started to pass it going around a shallow bend, but this is where things started to go wrong.  This had me off my line, and I was fast approaching one of the tighter switchbacks.  I braked a bit, and tried to get back on the line that would take me through the corner safely, but it was all a bit too rushed.  I got there, but then the corner was right on top of me.  I hauled the bike left as much as I could, and started to lose control of the rear wheel.  With a stiff disc wheel and a TT tire pumped so that it is rock hard, once it starts bouncing, it’s really hard to get it back.  I did everything I could to correct my swinging bike, and managed to get the wheel back on the ground.  The only problem was that to do this, it had me pointed straight for the ditch and trees.  Locking up the wheels did nothing, and I went flying over the edge, only to be stopped abruptly by a nice big tree.  That was it, in a fraction of a second my Worlds were done.

After a long day at the hospital, I hobbled out of there with what I would consider minor wounds, compared to how things could have ended up in such a situation.  I’ve got a torn ligament in my left leg, which has me in a cast for about 3 weeks.  Then there is a slightly broken nose, some stiches, and a bit of road rash, but everything else seems to be okay.  I think I’ll feel like I was hit by a train for a few days, but I can see a quick recovery and being back on the bike soon.

The biggest disappointment for me is not know how I would have done.  I honestly think this was the best I’ve ever felt during a time trial, and I think it would have been a great ride.  Having said that, I take a lot of consolation knowing that I wasn’t racing conservatively, and that I wasn’t willing to settle.  I wanted to leave everything I had on the course.  In the end, I left a fraction too much, but I think that’s what it takes to be a champion.  I’m proud of how I went at this race, just wish it had turned out differently.

Of course, this means I will not be competing in the road race tomorrow, or the Youth Olympics next week.  The next few days will be hectic trying to reorganize the next month of my life, but I’m sure everything will work out.  Thanks to everyone for their well wishes, and I hope to be back for more soon.

Wow, I guess it’s been a while since my last post, so I think it’s time for a quick update.  Since the Tour of Ireland, I’ve been staying at the National Team house in Tielt, Belgium preparing for the World Championships which start of Friday.  This has mostly involved a few kermesse races, but really only using them as hard training rides – not so much for results, and time trial efforts to prepare the TT.

After a few weeks on my own, I was joined by the rest of the Junior team for Worlds, who had just finished the Tour de l’Abitibi back in Canada.  Unfortunately, they were met with some bad luck, and no fewer than 3 out of the 5 showed up with broken bikes from the chaos that only Abitibi can have!  Needless to say it was a bit of a crazy time trying to find replacement bikes and equipment, but thankfully nobody was hurt themselves – it’s a lot tougher to buy a body part than a frame!

Aside from the training and prep, we’ve also been having a good time here in Belgium.  We went to see a post-Tour crit in Harentals the other night, where Cancellara, Basso, Van den Brouke, and a host of other top pros were parading around for thousands of spectators.  These are not so much races as shows, but it was pretty cool to see none the less.

So, it seems everything is coming together nicely for the weekend.  The vans leave on Monday for the long 15 hour drive through the mountains, and the athletes fly out on Tuesday.  30kms of hilly, technical time trial action awaits Kris and I on Friday, and then the rest of the guys will get their legs going on Sunday for the road race.  Things are also coming together for the Youth Olympics, which start not too much after Worlds.  Flights are being booked, arrangements made, and lots of forms signed, so I think everything is going to go smoothly.  Stay tuned for all the action from Italy!