Rikstrong Atmo

[atmo]

snipped from this: (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2006/tour06/news/?id=/news/2006/jul06/jul17news)
Rik Verbrugghe will have to rest for a full six months after breaking his femur in a bad crash during today's 14th stage to Gap. The break was a complex one, and Verbrugghe had to undergo an operation on Sunday evening in Gap. He will be transferred to another hospital in a few days.

Verbrugghe, who won a stage in the Giro this year, only last week signed a contract with Cofidis until 2008. "His accident changes nothing," said team manager Eric Boyer, who said that the team would honour the deal.


hmm. the suits at cofidis must have taken a sensitivity training course
wrt hiring and worker's rights practices. heck - if the stars were better
aligned, rik and lance mighta' been team mates atmo.

[Climb01742]

that was an awful, ugly crash. hurt just watching it. did you see the rocks stuck in the vents of kessler's helmut?

sucks all the more 'cause rik had a good shot at winning from that group.

[swoop]

you'd think.. with the reality of fickle ethic-free sponsorship.. that the riders might turn to dope just to not get left in the cold. good thing that it doesn't go down like that... cofidis would never abandon a rider when he's injured. ever.

[Climb01742]

ouch.

[Fat Robert]

and epo or other hemoglobin vectors would never reduce bone density....

i'm not insinuating that rik is on epo -- but the stuff they take to keep their jobs can poetntially set them up for some evil nasty injuries, let alone the long-term effects of yutzing with your body's basic chemical balance....