Just A Flesh Wound
One of the first pieces I ever wrote about pro cycling was a profile on Chris Horner for the Daily Peloton. I remember researching the article and reading about how Horner hit the road on Stage 2 of the 2005 Tirreno-Adriatico race. Pain shot through his leg but he got back on the bike, pushed past it and finished the stage. He started again the next morning but the pain was overwhelming and after coming in third-last on the next stage he abandoned the race.
Horner was disappointed by his experience in Italy and, despite still feeling pain from the crash, vowed to do better a week later at the Setmana-Catalana race in Spain. He made good on his vow and scored two top-10 finishes before ending the race 16th overall.
A week later, still unable to shake the pain, Horner finally saw a doctor and found out that he had raced the entire Setmana-Catalana on a broken leg.
I remember being so amazed by the physical extremes that these athletes put themselves through for their profession and I was reminded of that never-give-up attitude today when I read about young Linus Gerdemann of Team High Road crashing on Sunday at this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico and breaking his leg in two places. His response? “I will do my very best to be back on the bike as soon as possible and I will fight to become part of the 2008 Tour de France.”
Being a professional cyclist is anything but an easy job. In what other profession do you break your leg in two places on a regular day at the office and have to get up, dust yourself off and immediately start working with your doctor to figure out exactly when your bones will be healed enough to get right back to work? No whining. No complaining. No excuses.
I’ll never forget little Linus Gerdemann and his amazing stage win at the Tour last year. Overnight he went from being just one of those fresh young faces on the T-Mobile bus that no one had ever heard of, to having his name and face known by everyone in the sport. He’s part of that fresh crop of young riders who represent a break with the past and carry the hopes of all cycling fans for a brighter future.
I wish him a speedy recovery and I certainly hope we see him back on that bike before July.
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March 22nd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Chris Horner is an awesome rider. Always impressive.
James Butts
Wilmington, NC
March 25th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I agree. He is a nice guy. He has been to Tucson and has ridden in the El Tour de Tucson before.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
We’ve been watching the Giro on tv and wondered where Chris was….Hope he’s soon healed and back in the race!
My husband once rode back & forth to work for a week with a broken foot, before he knew the foot was broken….