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Tyler Tunes: Thinking of Michael
I had hoped today was going to be an opportunity for our team to finally show its true strength. Personally, I had goals of doing something special, but none of it was meant to be.
I didn't have the extra, little bit of snap you need to be at the front at the finish. By the end of today's stage I had lost about 3 minutes. Luckily I was able to hang in and limit my losses. But my disappointment was nothing in the grand scheme of things. On a competitive note, it was tough to see Laurent come so close to winning another stage. If only the race had ended, say, five kilometers before it did. But regardless of his placing, his ride was pretty incredible.
Unfortunately today, our team's disappointment centered around a much more serious note. Our greatest crisis was having Michael Sandstød crash out of the race. Tonight he is lying in intensive care with six broken ribs, a punctured lung and a broken shoulder.
He is being treated for his collapsed lung as I write this. Thankfully, we all just learned that Michael will not require surgery for his injuries, though he remains in intensive care. Thinking of my friend and teammate in that kind of situation right now puts my life and the opportunities I have had throughout this career into perspective. I always remind myself that what I do is only bike racing. It's not something you want to be risking your life to do. On a night like tonight, that sentiment rings louder than ever.
Hearing that Jonathan Vaughters also crashed out of today's race wasn't good news either. I was hoping he was going to see the Champs-Elysées this time. I hope he is okay.
Today's disappointments came on the heels of a seven-year-old fan losing his life at the Tour de France yesterday. I guess you could say the lessons of the last 48 hours are reminding me to take nothing forgranted.
On an ironic note, my wife traveled to the race in a camper last night along with Odessa Gunn, who is Levi's wife, Junstina Dobrowski, who is Jacob Piil's girlfriend, and Annette Sandstød.
Annette had also brought along their son, Michel, who is 10 years old. After yesterday's accident, Michael was very, very concerned about Michel attending the race today and he asked all the girls to keep a special eye on his son. Little did anyone know or expect it would be Michael who would be hurt today.
It must have been a scary moment for Annette and Michel when they heard the news that Michael had crashed out of the race. Luckily they didn't know the gravity of the situation until they arrived at the hospital tonight. I'm hoping the best for all three of them.
In an effort to end this somewhat reflective journal on a higher note, I will share a story with you regarding our camperazzi cheering section.
Levi's wife, Odessa spent the entire last week preparing for her first journey to the Tour and even went so far as making Rabobank pompoms. She cheered every rider in the race and was quite popular in doing so in a Rabobank vest and American flag bra.
When Erik Dekker rode up the Tourmalet many minutes down Odessa thought she should give him a push. She did so with both pompoms in hand and before he could react a pompom became tangled upand jammed in Erik's back wheel. He had to stop and his team mechanic had to jump out and come to his aid. Good thing everybody had a sense of humor about it. I think they all realized Odessa was just being enthusiastic.
I hope you all keep my teammate Michael and his family in your thoughts tonight.
Even though we have another tough day ahead of us tomorrow, I probably won't be thinking of much else.
Thanks for reading.
