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a domestique feels shame when quitting....

May 26, 2010
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Charlie Wegelius's blog;

http://blog.canyon.com/?lang=en

"Leaving the Tour de France prematurely is an unpleasant experience, one that I had never tasted until now. I sincerely hope I will never have to repeat it. It is a cruel process, that only adds to the physical discomfort that caused your failure in the first place......

I felt like a water bucket with dozens of bullet holes, I was leaking energy left, right, and centre. All the food and liquid I put into my body seemed to evaporate, and my legs got weaker and weaker as the hours passed......

And then I did something I have never done, and hope I will never have to do again. I went to our team manager, Marc Sergeant, and told him that I couldn’t go on. The end.......

In a matter of seconds, my world changes. I become a displaced being. A rider who doesn’t ride. The rest of the team busies itself with its preparations for the stage, and I watch on, in a daze. You don’t know where to sit, its as though you are always in the way.....

Something, I don’t even know what, got into my body and began to unravel all my plans. And the ironic thing is that it is probably something quite banal, like a gastric virus or god knows what. But the fact remains that it was enough to send me crawling home, weak and pale, with my tail between my legs."

great insight. Bravo.
 
Jun 16, 2009
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Excellent, honest writing which stands out all the more against the background of team-written drivel that we usually see these days.

Chapeau!
 
Aug 16, 2009
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There was an interview with Charlie on ITV4 the day he decided to quit - poor guy was nearly in tears and said he may very well quit the sport altogether, very painful to watch.
 
May 26, 2010
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it is a sad testimony to how hard it is for pro cyclists. i am sure most of his team have been in the same position but yet none seemed to offer comfort or sympathy and he was left to feel like he was letting the team down. Sad!