July 13/10 11:35 am - Tour de France: Stage 9

Posted by Editoress on 07/13/10
 

Results from today's 9th stage in France

Team Garmin-Transitions report

David Millar, who has been suffering injury and illness since crashing heavily three times on Stage 2 of the 2010 Tour de France, completed 180 kilometers of today’s 204.5 stage alone.  After being dropped on the first climb, Millar produced one of the rides of his life to finish Stage 9 inside the time cut.

Ryder Hesjedal, who has found himself in the position of riding GC after team leader, Christian Vande Velde crashed out on Stage 2, finished 23 on the stage and is 12th overall.


Matt White

What David did today shows both courage and a fierce dedication to his team. He rode 175 kilometers solo after getting dropped on the first climb. He’s been suffering bruised ribs and fighting illness ever since Stage Two.


On the whole, we knew today would be a hard day. Ryder and Johan both put in solid rides. Ryder has never been in this position before, so we’ll keep taking it day by day. What he’s done so far has been incredibly impressive.

David Millar

Today represents a brand new entry into my top five worst-ever days on a bike. I spent 180 kilometers by myself convinced I was going to abandon or be eliminated.
 
I crashed three times on Stage Two, and the third time I flipped over the handlebars and knew I’d really hurt myself. Ever since I’ve been battling injuries from that crash, plus a fever and stomach bug, and just basically hanging on for dear life.
 
I started today motivated, but knew immediately something wasn’t right. My left side where I’d crashed just locked up and then my back started having spasms.

I spent about three hours packing in my head. At 100 kilometers to go I was 30 minutes down on the leaders. All I could see in my head were the contours of the stage from the maps. I broke it up into 5-kilometer climbs and kept thinking – I have to get through this. The fans on the side of the road were brilliant, they were cheering and telling me not to give up, and that made a huge difference for me.

By the time I got to the finish, I didn’t know if I’d made the time cut – all I knew was that I’d finished. And at the Tour, it’s about finishing. This is not a race you want to leave, or one you’ll give up on without turning yourself inside out. Onward.