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Tour Notes: Fast Freddie saved by Ti? Zabriskie tranquilo
After Freddie Rodriguez broke his collarbone for the fifth time of his career in stage three of last year’s Tour de France, doctors inserted a titanium rod to piece together the brittle bones in his left shoulder. That extra support prevented the 33-year-old sprinter from reaching No. 6 in the broken bones department Monday after he hit the deck hard in the finish-line mayhem that left the road completely blocked by a pile of writhing bikes and bodies. “Initially, I thought I broke my shoulder and I wasn’t sure if I could continue,” Rodriguez told VeloNews before Tuesday’s start. “I didn’t see it happen. I was fighting for position and before I knew what hit me, I was down.” And Rodriguez stayed down for a long time. He was the last to cross the line at more than eight minutes back gingerly holding his arm down without touching the handlebars with his immediate future in doubt. “It was a crazy finish, tight roads, a lot of fans, the peloton was flying – if there was a crash, I knew that would be the place. It was completely crazy,” he said. “That titanium rod saved my shoulder. I have some stitches in my elbow. I’ll survive.” The Predictor-Lotto rider was transported to a local hospital for X-rays and luckily there were no broken bones. After a quick dinner, he was on the massage table at 10:30 p.m. for a rubdown and an osteopathic treatment. Rodriguez also blasted Tour officials for serving up another dangerous finish. Last year, Rodriguez crashed out of the Tour after hitting an unmarked pothole on the road in stage three. “My crash in last year’s Tour was worse. It’s going back to the same thing – it’s proven that the Tour de France isn’t worried about the safety of the riders,” he complained. “I’ve written complaints and I’ve contacted the rider’s representatives. They’ve never responded.” Rodriguez vowed to fight on. Tuesday’s stage might be the longest, but at least it was relatively slow and didn’t include any cobblestones or demanding climbs. “It will be hard today, but the goal is to keep going,” Rodriguez said. “If I can get back to 100 percent, I want to help Robbie win more stages.” Zabriskie ‘here to work’
Dave Zabriskie is surprised why everyone else seems surprised that he lost 2:27 at the end of stage one from London to Canterbury. The U.S. time trial champion explains he didn’t crash or suffer a mechanical – he simply rode in a little off the back to avoid trouble. “To set the record straight – I am not here for the GC,” Zabriskie told VeloNews. “I don’t know why people haven’t realized that. If I soft pedal for the last few kilometers to save my legs to help Carlos Sastre later in the mountains, that’s because I am here to work for the team.” Zabriskie was looking for a sweet spot near the back of the peloton to avoid Monday’s horrific finish-line crash into Ghent. “I am tranquilo,” he said. “I wish everyone else would relax a little bit.” The Utah native has done his fair share of work to help keep team captain Fabian Cancellara safely in the yellow jersey since Sunday. “We’ll keep (the jersey) as long as we can,” he said. “We’re happy with how the first couple of days have gone.” Zabriskie joked when asked by Danish TV journalists if he was going to re-up with Team CSC when his contract ends at the end of his season: “I’d prefer to retire in the Bahamas or maybe become a forest ranger.”
