Wasn’t that a great Tour de France?
Yesterday, as winner Cadel Evans—the first Australian to win the race—rolled into Paris, we forgot the carnage that marked the early stages.
The most horrifying and potentially deadly incident occurred on stage 9, when a negligently-driven television car, swerving to miss a tree on a narrow road, bounced Team Sky’s Juan Antonio Flecha across the road and catapulted Vacansoleil-DCM’s Johnny Hoogerland into a barbed wire fence.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j45QKl_Bsrg[/youtube]
The crash reminded just how vulnerable cyclists are—even professional racers—around motor vehicles, not to mention how often the Tour looks more like a car race.
Miraculously, both riders got back on their bikes, bloodied and battered, to finish the stage. Twenty-eight year-old Hoogerland, with 33 stitches closing the deep wounds in his legs, became one of the heroes of his year’s Tour. Theirs was a special kind of victory, when they rode onto the Champs-Élysées.
During the Tour television coverage, I was happy to see the following public service ad in commercial breaks. Narrated by cycling lawyer Bob Mionske and hosted by Road ID, the video is a helpful guide for fair-minded road users interested in getting along with cyclists. It’s also a great reminder for us, to ride safely and predictably on the open road.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1q8VAkBE5E[/youtube]
Also on the podium in Paris yesterday were brothers Andy and Frank Schleck (Leopard Trek), and top team Garmin-Cervelo, including Victoria, B.C. native Ryder Hesjedal. Chapeau, guys!
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