McEwen furious about post-stage collision
Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen stands in 3rd place in the points classification at the 2010 Tour de France. The three-time green jersey winner was among of the fastest sprinters in the world at his peak. As of stage six, he stood in 23rd place overall, and had set the green jersey victory in his sights. But when McEwen collided with a careless cameraman after crossing the stage 6 finish line, his dreams at the 2010 Tour de France were put in jeopardy.
"I saw this guy jump in front me and I was not able to avoid him because of the high speed," McEwen said in a team statement.
The cyclist was sent to a local hospital to be checked out, while the cameraman will not be allowed to participate in the next stage. This is his second injury, after being involved in the large group crash in stage two.
"Crashed. In hospital having my elbow treated. Very deep wound & lost quite a bit of blood. Dr says will be ok to race. Won't be comfortable," McEwen said on Twitter.
Having finished four of the first six stages in fourth place, along with one in the 7th and one in the 14th, McEwen was easily performing with the top contenders for the green jersey, but he has suffered a massive decline in performance in the two stages – finishing in 175th and 182nd.
McEwen claims crash hurts wallet
The angry sprinter said that the reckless security which allowed the collision to happen could cost him ''hundreds of thousands'' of dollars in contract offers. The Team Katusha rider fell at a speed of 60 km/h after sprinting across the line, leaving him in agony.
''I'm injured but I'm lucky nothing is broken,'' he told the Herald. ''I am still very close in the green jersey competition [third on 105 points]. Now I've got another injury to deal with and that can effectively ruin my chances.
McEwen, who has taken home three green jerseys and 12 stage victories in his history with the Tour, has said that crashing after the finish isn’t the same as a crash during a stage – there should be safety measures in place ensuring that won’t happen.
''It could cost me hundreds of thousands of euros what he just did. A crash in the race is a racing incident. That's part of the game. A crash like [Friday's] has nothing to do with racing. He shouldn't have done what the did. Basically, if he ruins my Tour … then he is responsible. That's costing me money.''
In pain
There is little on McEwen's body that is not injured. While asking about his condition, Mark Cavendish touched on his shoulder and elbow.
''He came to say g'day and he touched me on the shoulder. I have opened myself up there. Then he touched me on the elbow, but that's my injury from the first crash. You can't touch me anywhere at the moment. I'm really hurt. 'I have injured my lower back and my shoulder and neck. I am trying to start today and hoping I can make it to the finish.''
McEwen congratulated the British sprinter on his stage win at Gueugnon. The injured cyclist, forgiving of Cavendish's inadvertently irritating his wound, was not forgiving of the photographer he collided with, nor of the Tour organization which negligently allowed it to happen.
''There are just too many people there. There are too many that have really no business being there. It makes it dangerous for the riders, particularly after a bunch sprint. 'We had just come in. We had been riding as fast as we can for kilometres and kilometres. You finish it. You go absolutely full gas to the finish line and within 70 metres in my case yesterday, some f---ing idiot jumps out and runs into me head on. At this level of sports it's just ridiculous.''
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