At the conclusion of the first week of the Tour de France, the consequences tend to be severe. Reports suggest that the 2011 Tour may have been particularly disastrous compared to previous years. Similar sentiments were expressed about the races of 1996 and 1997, which were filled with numerous crashes, as well as the Tours of 2003 and 2004, notorious for dramatic pile-ups during finish sprints.
While there were cuts, bruises, and broken collarbones, they did not reach the tragic levels of the accidents that claimed the life of Wouter Weylandt during the Giro d’Italia, nor those that left Colombian rider Juan Mauricio Soler in a Swiss hospital recovering from an induced coma.
The casualties of the first week, as the French media often refers to them, included Bradley Wiggins, 2004 world champion Tom Boonen, American Chris Horner—who won the Tour of California in May but withdrew from the Tour due to concussion and a broken nose—and his teammate Janez Brajkovic.
Other riders also faced challenges; the difficulties faced by Dutch climber Robert Gesink could be traced back to a crash the previous Wednesday. Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, who placed seventh in the 2010 Tour, was involved in both the Wiggins crash and a pile-up that cost Alberto Contador over a minute on the first stage, while another rider was also not in optimal condition.
The first week’s structure contributed to an atmosphere of heightened tension among the competitors. “It’s been a really nervous first week, there are lots of technical finishes, but they are important because they are uphill, making positioning crucial,” commented American Levi Leipheimer, who finished third in the 2007 Tour and suffered time loss in this year’s early stages.
“This first week is lengthy, and there’s little separating the riders competing for the general classification. The results from the team time trial were extremely close, which has kept everyone on edge. It’s unfortunate that crashes are playing such a significant role in determining the race. While they are inherently part of the sport, I’m not sure it’s right for them to have this level of impact.”
Thor Hushovd attributes the crashes to the wind, stating, “The wind makes everyone anxious; they all want to be at the front,” said the race leader. “There’s not enough space for all the teams to stay within the first 20 positions, which heightens the tension and leads to crashes.”
A rider pointed out, “With five teams of sprinters trying to maintain their position at the front, and nine teams with overall contenders, that simply creates too much congestion even on wide roads.”
Robert Millar, former king of the mountains, once remarked that Tour cyclists go through a set of brake blocks daily and master several swearing expressions in multiple languages during the Tour’s opening week. On cyclingnews.com, Millar noted, “Crashes are so anticipated… they even have a classification for crashing, which surprisingly lacks a sponsor: chute grave [serious], chute massive [involving many riders], chute avec consequence [someone got injured], and chute sans consequence [someone fell off but it wasn’t serious].”
Wiggins was transported from a military airport near Châteauroux to Manchester on a private flight on Saturday and is scheduled for surgery on his broken left collarbone on Sunday, where a plate will be inserted.
The fracture itself is clean, and while the plate is expected to remain for up to two years, most cyclists with similar injuries can typically resume training on a home trainer after five days and return to road cycling after 10 days.
There is speculation about Wiggins potentially participating in the Tour of Spain as preparation for the world road time trial championship in Denmark at the end of September.
The Vuelta a España is set to begin on 20 August, and there is talk that Wiggins’ potential return could take place during the Tour of Denmark, scheduled for 3-7 August.
by Terence Johns