Disturbing Horner interview

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kurtinsc

Nov 17, 2009
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Just got to watch it now (blocked at work).

The memory continuing to slip over and over is disturbing. No way he should go tomorrow.

The worst was seeing him get on the stretcher... apparently feeling okay physically but saying "I'm going to the hospital? Why? I crashed? But I finished?"

He's losing events from memory as quickly as they come in.
 
irongrl

irongrl

Sep 7, 2009
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Captain_Obvious said:
Alot can be said about this but chief amongst all else: why the hell did they let him keep riding. A concussion is a serious and complex thing, first sign of it and you have to be taken to a hospital and in anycase take it very easy. I'm Surpised that johan is even considering letting him race.

What kind of crazy tour is this shaping up to be..... :confused:
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Totally agree with this post. Horner should never have been allowed to finish riding today. He should have been taken to a hospital right away.
 
irongrl

irongrl

Sep 7, 2009
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Cloxxki said:
The race doc may have omitted the trick question - What race is this.

With bonus point for knowing the stage finish town and stage number.

I'm not even trying to be funny, but I wonder how well the doc minded after him and whether there were learning points to be taken from today.
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Maybe a language barrier, if the race doc's first language isn't English. Perhaps Horner seemed ok to him since he was able to talk.
 
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2wheels

Mar 17, 2009
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Big chapeau and wishes for a complete and speedy (like within the next 8 hours) recovery for Chris. He was actually my pick to win this thing. That was a gritty finish worthy of Jens F. Voigt himself!
 
Ryo Hazuki

Ryo Hazuki

Mar 31, 2010
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:( I really wished for horner to show what he can this tour. I even thought he could podium if all went perfect
 
I

IdiotTriathlete

Sep 28, 2009
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kurtinsc said:
Just got to watch it now (blocked at work).

The memory continuing to slip over and over is disturbing. No way he should go tomorrow.

The worst was seeing him get on the stretcher... apparently feeling okay physically but saying "I'm going to the hospital? Why? I crashed? But I finished?"

He's losing events from memory as quickly as they come in.
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This is absolutely appalling. Looking at the video I think it's pretty clear that he is in post-traumatic amnesia, which is indicative of a brain injury of some sort. He should have gone straight to hospital **immediately** without passing go or collecting £200. There might well have been something bleeding away in there that would require immediate surgery. I have, unfortunately, personal experience of this and I know what I'm talking about here. If he's still in PTA more than half an hour after the accident then that's potentially suggesting a quite serious head injury.

On the other side, I also unfortunately have experience of French doctors' English abilities. My wife was in the neurosurgery unit of the main hospital in Grenoble, which takes all the head injuries from the French Alps (all the skiers and climbers). Only one of the doctors on the unit spoke any language apart from French: the rest, despite the location of the hospital, didn't even speak German or Italian, let alone English. How they stay up to date with research I do not know. Mind-boggling.
 
VeloGirl

VeloGirl

Mar 10, 2009
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Zigster said:
I find it disturbing that I am getting all the best TDF coverage from Bicycling magazine
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No sh*t. they have had the best interviews, Frankie's on fire, the best blogs and the best videos. Crazy.

Bak to Horner - Horner should have never been allowed back on that bike - I don't care what he wanted. The first thing a medical professional should be thinking is "Do no harm". Clearly, that wasn't the case.

Head injuries are nothing to mess with - think Natasha Richardson. After hitting her head hard in a skiing accident, she was laughing. She couldn't remember the accident, but she was laughing. A couple hours after that, she became unresponsive, slipping into a coma.

Shame on Bruyneel, the team doctor and the race doctor for allowing him to continue.

And Boonen! He was throwing up this morning and his team allowed him to continue. Craziness!

I know it's the cyclist mentality - but it is the responsibility of the medical staff to keep riders from hurting themselves and others in cases like these.
 
rides like a girl

rides like a girl

Mar 14, 2010
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I can't imagine how he was better, better mentally, after he crashed. All I can think of is the actress Natasha Richardson I think was her name who fell off a horse. I believe she got minimal medical care, passed away 12 hours after the fall. Head injuries are no joke. I have only had a slight concussion and I saw spots and had a headache!

I thought the doctors took better care of the riders. They have to protect the riders from themselves, the DS and anyone else! If Tom threw up, after a head injury and still started, crazy!!!

To know that Chris rode at least 12 some minutes, laid on the ground for a bit, then was finally transported. Sure seems like wasted time that could have been used for medical care.
 
oncehadhair

oncehadhair

May 4, 2010
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irongrl said:
Maybe a language barrier, if the race doc's first language isn't English. Perhaps Horner seemed ok to him since he was able to talk.
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Thats more like it. The doctors are under pressure to let the riders continue, especially if there is no obvious serious physical damage. Plenty of riders have finished a stage injured, then withdrawn from the race when the extent of their injuries is more obvious.
 
mewmewmew13

mewmewmew13

Aug 9, 2010
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whoa this is terrible. Big mistake if someone passed him as ok to ride or just a language barrier.
Yes, the Natasha R head injury...came to my mind also.
Chris is done in the Tour or he should be!

sorry that this has to be a public record of his injury, as I find it sad that this is being shown. :(
 
F

fujitourer

May 27, 2011
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There are some serious criminal negligence and duty of care issues brought up by this incident. There is no way that Horner should have been allowed back on his bike, neither by the race doctors nor by his team. Sending him off to race that last 25km could easily have been sending him off to his death, I am astounded that he made it to the finish line.
 
thehog

thehog

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Jul 27, 2009
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fujitourer said:
There are some serious criminal negligence and duty of care issues brought up by this incident. There is no way that Horner should have been allowed back on his bike, neither by the race doctors nor by his team. Sending him off to race that last 25km could easily have been sending him off to his death, I am astounded that he made it to the finish line.
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The biggest problem I have here is that the DS's claim they need radios for this very reason - safety!! Surely Hog was on the radio to Chris and could ascertain that he wasnt right? Pull him or least stop him for another check-up?
 
F

fujitourer

May 27, 2011
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thehog said:
The biggest problem I have here is that the DS's claim they need radios for this very reason - safety!! Surely Hog was on the radio to Chris and could ascertain that he wasnt right? Pull him or least stop him for another check-up?
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You would have thought that the race doctor, the team doctor, the management in person or over radio, hell, even oen of his teammates would have been able to raise alarm bells.

Obviously there is a long tradition in the sport of riding hurt, and of people involved in the sport, the management and the fans, showing great respect for those who do so, but there is a difference between riding with a broken collarbone or a dislocated shoulder and riding with a potential severe brain injury.

The only place Chris should have been going after his crash was a hospital. He clearly has some damage to his brain if he is unable to remember the crash or process what people were telling him after the event. Hopefully it is only minor and transient. Like i said, I'm amazed that he was able to stay on his bike for the last 25km. If he had fallen and hit his head again... well, he is fortunate that he didn't.

The most important factor in rider safety is the attitude of management - you can have all the radios and warnings that you like, that won't stop prioritising the health of their riders below success in the event. That is a cultural change, which is a difficult thing to do, but is happening in the football codes around the world. In Australia rules have just been passed in the AFL that if the doctor sees a player is concussed they may not return to the field, period, which was influenced by the research done in relation to the the NFL in America into the dangers of head trauma in recent years. The UCI probably need to step in with a similar law to ensure that riders are not allowed to continue when they shouldn't be.
 
thehog

thehog

BANNED
Jul 27, 2009
31,285
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It's not just the DS's and radio's. The UCI doesn't help. Their upcoming accreditation for agents and sports directors is a positive step. Drugs still play a big part. A lot of cyclists are off their nuts riding at record speed. They don't even feel a crash. Not having a prologue has bunched the field tightly in the first week. A time trial or prologue may have loosened the grip slightly.

Not sure many here have ever ridden in a large pack. Riding on your own you can dodge most obsticals. In a pack off 200 you ride over everything. It's most unnerving. It's 4 hours of total concentration at high speed.

fujitourer said:
You would have thought that the race doctor, the team doctor, the management in person or over radio, hell, even oen of his teammates would have been able to raise alarm bells.

Obviously there is a long tradition in the sport of riding hurt, and of people involved in the sport, the management and the fans, showing great respect for those who do so, but there is a difference between riding with a broken collarbone or a dislocated shoulder and riding with a potential severe brain injury.

The only place Chris should have been going after his crash was a hospital. He clearly has some damage to his brain if he is unable to remember the crash or process what people were telling him after the event. Hopefully it is only minor and transient. Like i said, I'm amazed that he was able to stay on his bike for the last 25km. If he had fallen and hit his head again... well, he is fortunate that he didn't.

The most important factor in rider safety is the attitude of management - you can have all the radios and warnings that you like, that won't stop prioritising the health of their riders below success in the event. That is a cultural change, which is a difficult thing to do, but is happening in the football codes around the world. In Australia rules have just been passed in the AFL that if the doctor sees a player is concussed they may not return to the field, period, which was influenced by the research done in relation to the the NFL in America into the dangers of head trauma in recent years. The UCI probably need to step in with a similar law to ensure that riders are not allowed to continue when they shouldn't be.
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Jeanne

Jeanne

Aug 12, 2009
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oh my, that's really shocking. seems like he has partial amnesia :eek: hope it's not too bad and he'll get well soon!!!
 
hfer07

hfer07

Mar 17, 2009
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not to speculate, but he sounded like he was high-don't know if he was given pain killers to go on after the crash, but it doesn't make sense at all for the fvck!ng Hog to make him ride to the finish line in that condition- that's wrong:mad:
 
BillytheKid

BillytheKid

Jun 1, 2011
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hfer07 said:
not to speculate, but he sounded like he was high-don't know if he was given pain killers to go on after the crash, but it doesn't make sense at all for the fvck!ng Hog to make him ride to the finish line in that condition- that's wrong:mad:
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I guess you've never seen somebody with a serious head injury. Short term memory is gone, speach can be effected...the lot. The fact that had not cleared up by the finish is very worrisome. I just saw the prime-time coverage on Versus. He was out cold minutes after the crash. I don't know why they let him continue.
 
G

ggusta

Jul 26, 2009
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The only good part of versus open this evening was not having to hear Bob Roll. That jerk was speechless. Probably trying to figure how he could blame it on Contador and couldn't come up with a good spin.

No one should have let him get back on a bike. How in God's name could they let him continue? He doesn't know where he is. It's not just a little bump. What actually preceded the crash?

get well and get thee to a neurologist/concussion specialist post haste. That needs to be monitored closely for some time.
 
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