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How a little creative mechanics lets Matt Wilson ride with a broken wrist.

Published: Apr. 23, 2008
Matt Wilson’s Team Type 1 issued Orbea Orca.
Matt Wilson’s Team Type 1 issued Orbea Orca.

J.J. Haedo isn’t the only rider toughing it out at this year’s Tour of Georgia.

Team Type 1’s Matt Wilson, too, has a broken wrist and is racing in a soft cast. While pain isn’t too much of a problem, the cast on his right hand and wrist doesn’t allow him enough freedom of movement to easily operate his right Double Tap shifter.

On Tuesday, he spent much of the stage using his left hand to operate his right shifter. He showed up at the start on Wednesday with a solution his mechanics rigged up in the evening. They added a 10-speed SRAM 900-series time-trial shifter to the left bar end so that he can use it as a bar end shifter. He still has to brake with his right hand, but the added shifter allows him to make both front and rear shifts from the left side with his good hand.

SRAM’s on-site technical staff, Paul Damato, offered to gut the Wilson’s right shifter to shave weight, but the Type 1 mechanics declined.

“It’s a short term problem,” said Chris Davidson, the Type 1 mechanic who filled us in. He explained that once Wilson heals up, the bike revert back to the way it was.

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