Today on Eurosport the girl commentator wouldn’t shut up about how during yesterday’s crash, the first or second guy that went down broke 3 ribs in 2 places each (or something along those lines) and his nose, and while he was still lying down on the ground in pain Robbie McEwen came up to him and started shaking his fist in the air and cursing him.
She even said there might be a peleton-wide conspiracy (or atleast there should be) that no one helps Robbie win a sprint in the next few days.
You (and especially Eurosport’s commentator) seem to have no idea of what happend. René Haselbacher (the guy that broke his rips in yesterday’s crash) has a very bad reputation in the peleton for causing crashes. Among others he caused last years crash in Lyon? in the TDF. Several riders pointed to Haselbacher for causing yesterday’s crash (His steer broke but it is not clear whether that was before or after the actual crash).
“He can’t ride in a straight line and has caused a lot of crashes before” (my translation of Robbie McEwen’s comments after the incident made in Dutch).
This crash made McEwen loose the green jersey plus a potential stage victory (though Boonen was very strong yesterday), so he had every right to be upset.
The peleton-wide conspiracy is total bullsh*t (nobody wil help anyone win a sprint if he is not on his team). For her ignorant comments you better nominate Eurosports commentator for jackass of the week.
" Haselbacher ran himself into the barrier," said an angry McEwen. “He did the same thing last year in a stage and took out Baden and me. I’m really pissed off. That’s twice he’s taken me out now. I’m really sore. I honestly couldn’t see anyone beating me otherwise. I felt fantastic and really thought that I would win today. It’s just my style of sprint. Three hundred and fifty metres, uphill and out of a corner.”
This is why and if you remember the crash from last year, an overhead shot shows Haselbacher not keeping a straight line and squeezing the McEwen & Cooke into the gutter.
Of course Robbie is going to be a bit pissed off. He had very good chance of taking this stage out.
You can bet that McEwen also did not know that Haselbacher was lying there with a couple of broken ribs, in the heat of the crash he showed his apreaciation and then got going again.
I agree the goose should be the reporter for trying to muster up some controversy that doesn’t exist.
Anything for a sensationalised story.
Had to be a French Reporter. Always looking to twist the real story. Robbie is a stand up family guy. What a bitch!
Smitty
LOL… you guys are hilarious… she’s american, Phil Anderson’s wife Christie.
Are you sure about this. Maybe she is French American.
Smitty
Nope, Smartass is 100% correct.