Lance Armstrong injured

[Jo-n-NY]

On the nat'l news tonight, they reported that is indeed a broken collarbone; he's being flown back to the US for surgery. His trainer says he may be back on the road in a month. Wow! Definitely a bad break for him (pardon the pun) -- my DH broke his collarbone in a cycling accident 11 years ago, and it took him a lot longer than a month to recover (or at least that is what he told me as I took over the lawn-mowing duties all summer!) Of course, he didn't have surgery, which probably decreases recovery time.

I'll be really disappointed if he doesn't get to ride the Tour...was really looking forward to it.

When I fractured my shoulder, my orthopedic told me that if I had pins and rods put in the healing time is quicker. However, it can also cause arthritis besides having a foriegn object in me. Although I really wanted a quick recovery because at the time I was training for a organized ride (my dh first and which I told him to do without me ), I chose not to go that route. For Lance, needless to say, he has a better reason for a fast recovery.

Emily, funny about your dh and cutting the lawn lol.

~ JoAnn

[OakLeaf]

I think the main issue is going to be whether he can tolerate the pain enough to keep his training on track, and I'm guessing that as a cancer survivor, he can.

Functionally, I've had vocational specialists testify many times that the collarbone isn't really important. Mainly, it's just really painful. Professional motorcycle racers ride with broken collarbones pretty often. I've seen a roadracer podium (I believe win his race, but I don't remember) with the surgical incision open and seeping blood.

Now, I know an endurance event is not the same thing as an hour-long motorcycle race - mainly because you can't keep the local anaesthetics coming. But the Tour itself is a long ways off. Professional athletes typically use bone growth stimulators and whatever else they've got these days. Professional athletes never, that I've seen, worry about what arthritis they might have when they get older!

The other thing is that (unlike motorcycle racing) upper-body strength is really secondary for a cyclist. Lance can keep his cardio capacity, leg strength and core strength without stressing the collarbone at all before it's ready. Bottom line, I think he'll be fine - at least I don't really see this injury setting him back very far. The main loss is just the competitive edge from being able to participate in the rest of Castilla & Leon, it seems to me.

I hadn't been following Lance very closely, though. Had he been planning on competing in another event before the Tour?

[papaver]

I hadn't been following Lance very closely, though. Had he been planning on competing in another event before the Tour?

Yes, the Giro...

[Tuckervill]

I saw video of him in a car with a sling on, and he looked so TICKED OFF. It was just all over his face.

Karen

[ny biker]

I think the main issue is going to be whether he can tolerate the pain enough to keep his training on track, and I'm guessing that as a cancer survivor, he can.

I think his ability to tolerate pain has been one of the reasons he's been so successful. He has actually said that he enjoys the suffering of long distance bike racing.