Garmin Loses Robbie Hunter
South African cyclist Robbie Hunter, riding for Garmin-Transitions, wasn’t at the starting line of the 11th Stage of the 2010 Tour de France, though he had remained optimistic after yesterday’s crash.
Hunter finished the 10th Stage despite his crash, which x-rays later revealed had left him with a broken bone in his elbow, but no muscle damage. He intended to start the 11th Stage anyway, until he woke in the morning to find that he was unable to grip the handlebars.
“Tried to ride to sign on but no chance to even hold the bar, let alone use the brakes,” said Hunter. “It really sucks to sit in the team bus, kit on, and watch your team-mates go to the start. Disappointed big time. I had big ambitions for this Tour," he added.
Also absent at the starting line was British cyclist Charles Wegelius, riding for Omega Pharma-Lotto, who suffered the same injury as Hunter and Cadel Evans, though Hunter has suffered the most because of it. Like Evans, Wegelius would have ridden on, albeit more carefully, but the team has announced that he has also contracted a stomach virus which prevents him from keeping any food or drink down. Having both crashed, Wegelius managed to finish the tenth stage over 7 minutes ahead of Hunter, though still 1 hour and almost 18 minutes behind the stage leader.
“Hard crash in the start some tool dumped it in front of me had nowhere to go. Arm hurt like h**l all day & plenty swollen,” he said, noting “I was a tad upset and tender.”
In the last two Tours, Team Garmin finished with all nine riders in Paris, but Hunter is the second rider this year to crash out of the race, after Christian Vande Velde couldn’t begin the third stage. The team had a very good race last year, with Bradley Wiggins finishing in fourth and Vande Velde finishing in eighth, despite having suffered injuries that year as well. Sprinter Tyler Farrar finished three stages in the top four.
In 2010, the former leader of Team Garmin, Wiggins, rides for Team Sky, however the team still entered the race optimistically. But then Vande Velde broke a rib in the second stage, and bad luck struck David Millar and Tyler Farrar, who hasn’t been able to perform his best due to a fractured bone in his palm.
Team member Julian Dean has been able to support Farrar, and together they’ve achieved a second and third place finish in Stages 6 and 11. The team has never taken a stage win at the Tour de France, but Farrar stands in 9th place in the points classification and Ryder Hesjedal stands in 12th place overall.
The loss of Hunter, one of the team’s key riders, will prove to be a blow to their later performances in speed finishes, as in today’s 11th Stage, and the other two remaining flat stages. He was an important member of Farrar’s lead-out team, and may have made the difference in today’s near-win against Mark Cavendish.
“Definitely not my best day on the bike, lots of guys were hurting today,” said Hunter. “Thank goodness we had a head wind!”
The South African former stage winner reached the finish in Gap, but x-rays revealed that a fracture to the radial bone in his elbow flared up overnight. Though disappointed, he remains in good spirits and looks forward to the remaining races of the season, where he vows to take home some victories.
“On the bright side, the season ain’t over yet. Get the arm sorted and come back winning. Plenty of races to come. Everything happens for a reason," said Hunter.
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