This is from cyclingnews.com Armstrong confident despite crash
Lance Armstrong has suffered several small injuries in a crash during a training ride around Nice, France. News agency AP reported the six time-Tour de France winner to have a black eye, a cut over his right eyebrow and abrasions on his hands and knees, after the fall, which happened at low speed during the start of a training ride last week. Apparently, he lost control on his time-trial bike and sailed over the handlebars, his helmet splitting in two on impact.
Nevertheless, Armstrong is looking forward to the French Grand Tour. “I’m excited about the race,” he said. “I feel very good on the bike. And I would even venture to say that I feel better than I’ve ever felt.” The Texan also insisted that the motivation to win the event for a seventh consecutive year is even stronger than before.
“My kids weren’t there last year and that was a real bummer for me,” Armstrong said. “And they are going to be there this year. For them to come over here, come into my office basically, and see their father at work is important to me. And I would love for them to see me in a yellow jersey. That, right there, alone, is plenty of motivation.”
Armstrong, who has a final training ride scheduled for Monday, June 27, will recon the Saint-Etienne time trial of the penultimate stage on Tuesday. Later in the week, he will also see the opening time-trial course. “I fully understand that when I go and do reconnaissance on a course, that is the last time I’ll do that as a rider,” Armstrong said. “I’m not going to lie and say that I start crying when I finish or anything because I’ve sort of been glad that I won’t be doing that anymore. Athletes can’t play at the highest level forever. So much of it is about timing and figuring just how long the body can continue to do what it does. This year felt like the right time to stop, and based on what I can tell, I’m ready to hopefully go out at or near the top.”
Apparently, he lost control on his time-trial bike and sailed over the handlebars, his helmet splitting in two on impact.
Wonder how the heck that happened? Maybe Sheryl flashed him or something! This does not say much for the European standard under which the TT helmet was certified.
“This does not say much for the European standard under which the TT helmet was certified.”
Looks to me like the helmet did its job: it absorbed the shock and Lance got to tell the story!
I was expressing confusion based on the the understanding that this mishap was considered a ‘low speed’ incident when the helmet split in two. Of course in this case, low speed might mean that LA was taking it easy and was simply warming up while riding at 25mph and not 35 mph!
Likely not wearing a TT helmet on a training ride (even though he was riding his TT bike), and regardless of what speed you are travelling if you fly over the handlebars and land on your head, your velocity at impact is going to be significant.
Even at 5 measly miles an hour, your body can impact in such a way that your head accelerates in a whipping motion toward whatever hard surface it hits. You can easily generate the same impact forces at 5mph as you can at 30mph. That’s why kids tooling around the neighborhood at 5mph need a helmet every bit as much as you or I do.
I recall a board certified forensic pathologist (who specializes in head injuries) testify that an adult falling from a stationary, standing position can in theory generate enough momentum to sustain a fatal head injury.
Apparently, he lost control on his time-trial bike and sailed over the handlebars, his helmet splitting in two on impact.
Wonder how the heck that happened? Maybe Sheryl flashed him or something! This does not say much for the European standard under which the TT helmet was certified.
Yeah, I can’t for the life of figure out why people thinking that just falling down can’t kill you. If your head lands on a rocks and shatters your skull (which really isn’t that think/strong) you are done.
And then there are the long-term injuries associated with concussions. I am sure the list goes on and on. Glad to see Lance had one on.
M~
I had a “low speed” crash last year, about 15mph or less going up a slight grade. helmet broke in three pieces, broken collarbone, concussion, woke up in the back of an ambulance about 10 minutes later. it happens.
No doubt this was caused by Lance’s triathlon heritage. It is well documented that triathletes are terrible bike handlers. Thi s i s just further proof.
A stationary fall from standing height is certainly enough to kill you. In fact, falling from a seated height is enough to do it. I have seen both. All of this depends upon the age/condition of the person falling, as well as how they land and what sort of surface they land on.
An important thing to remember is that the horizontal and vertical components of the speed of an object are independant. For example, someone falling off of their bike at 5 mph sustains the same vertical impact with the pavement as someone going 50 mph, because they are falling from the same height. However, the person going 50 is going to slide farther on the pavement, and maybe crack their head into a curb or something at high speed. **That **impact will obviously be worse.
See, high school physics was good for something after all :^)