Team Garmin-Transitions gave Cyclingnews ‘special’ access to two of our riders, David Millar and Johan Van Summeren, showing their recovery processes. The access is even more special due to the amount of injuries that have befallen the team.
Stage 6: 8:30 pm. David Millar’s hotel room.
“Need sleep. I must sleep,” mutters Millar.
“This is without doubt the most banged up I’ve been in a Tour. My ribs are not broken but the intercostals and the ligaments are agony. I’ve got a bad groin strain too but it’s only sore when I get out the saddle or I put my shoes on. I had a fever last night and a stomach bug, and I couldn’t eat.”
“I was hurt in 2001 when I crashed in the prologue but that was just one crash and these are the effects of three or four different falls. They’re all different injuries. All sides of my body from all different angles and it’s not healing as quickly as I would like.”
“Today was horrible. One of those days when you just want to curl up at the side of the road. It’s never-ending. It should have been an easy stage but it felt like a mountain stage. I can eat again now. That’s good.”
“The Tour de France is not fun at the moment. This is when you want to be at home and not at the Tour.”
“I must take something to sleep. Normally I try not to take anything but that’s the only thing I can do at the moment. I have to make sure I sleep. Must sleep. Need sleep.”
The doctor and I leave the room as Millar drifts off to sleep. He’ll be woken in an hour for massage and dinner.
“He has been given vitamin C, an anti-inflammatory, and a painkiller. Something to help sleep, too. He’ll recover in the next few days but he needs to make it to the rest day. That will give him some relief,” the doctor says before departing to Zabriskie’s room to check on the American’s health.
“We have the WADA list and the WADA code with us,” says team boss Vaughters in the lobby.
“It’s the least and the most of our worries. It’s very clear on what’s legal and what’s not. In terms of chiropractic work, temperature work and nutrition, we do a lot more than some other teams.”
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