Sadly, Tyler abandoned yesterday as his body finally said “enough”. We were all disappointed for him. It was very saddening to see his face, which showed the acute disappointment he felt. The race itself did go on, however, and typically, Garmin-Transitions were flying the flag despite the setbacks today at the TdF Stage 12.
Ryder repeatedly attacked the peloton and chased every other cyclists’s attack until he finally found himself in the break of the day.
After his heroics of making the break (the race within the race) he worked with his companions for most of the race, until there was a selection of 4 from the 17-odd riders in the initial break. Again Ryder was there, swinging away. He has an enormous ability to push himself.
Eventually Ryder and his 3 companions were caught in the final couple of km of the stage on a ridiculously steep hill. Ryder still hovers just outside of the top 10 on the overall, and we hope to see him continue to fight on so well.
My job yesterday in addition to normal physio duties was to help with transport. The race went through very remote parts of France (yes such parts exist! Not outback Australia, but remote nonetheless), and the only way for the buses to get from the start to the finish was via a motorway which was a 480km drive. Thus the bus would have struggled to arrive on time, so we drove the boys to the start in cars with the bus headed straight to the finish.
Once we’d left the boys, we drove the course, which took us through some beautiful countryside and an amazing number of fans on the roadside. Considering how middle-of-nowhere-y it was, the crowds were incredible. But that’s the Tour isn’t it?
Onwards. Still swinging.
