McEwen Wins…Will He Continue? July 8, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Tour De France , add a comment
Wow! Does Robbie McEwen have a gear that no one else has? Robbie produced a stunning come-from-the-back-of-the-peleton finish to win yesterday’s first stage of the Tour de France. McEwen once again produced his trademark burst of power to finish a bike length ahead of Norwegian Thor Hushovd at the end of a dramatic 203km of racing from London.
McEwen, 35, looked to be out of contention when he had to stop for repairs after a crash as the race approached Canterbury towards the end of the 203km stage from London. With 12 miles to go, McEwen was forced to brake because of riders ahead. He was hit from behind by a cyclist and sent sprawling to the road. “The fall itself was on a small road,” the Australian continued. “They [the other riders] were braking in font of me and almost stopping. I also went hard on my brakes. I had almost stopped but whoever was behind me wasn’t paying attention and just ran straight into the back of me. It flipped me over the handlebars. I tried to keep flipping over to land on my feet or maybe my back but my hand was the first thing to hit the ground and then my knee. Straight off, he feared that he might have to stop. “I initially thought that I had broken my wrist, as I couldn’t move it and it was very sore. I will have to go and get it looked at by the doctor.” Pressing on despite a sore right wrist and cuts on his right knee, McEwen was at the back of the peleton with 7 km to go but was escorted by his Predictor Lotto teammates back up into the leaders group for the final all-out sprint.
Will He Continue?
However the crash has left the 34-year-old Predictor-Lotto star nursing a sore wrist - and with major doubts for the coming days. “When it happens you’re not really thinking too much about it, you get back on your bike you don’t feel anything,” said McEwen, whose team-mates battled to bring him back into the race for the finale. “But now I’m starting to feel the pain, in my hand, my wrist and my knee. “It was a great day for me, but now I’m starting to get a bit worried for the rest of the Tour.”
As the 2007 TdF starts, let’s not forget about our friend, Floyd Landis, who will be here in Chicago at Borders at 830 N Michigan Ave on Tueday evening at 7pm to sign his book. As always, stay up with all the Floyd Landis progress at the Trust But Verify blog — they have the best info anywhere on the matter.
