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Tyler H's broken collarbone?

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May 20, 2010
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My view is that Tyler had a much bigger problem than a fractured clavicle, and that was mental anguish. For him, getting on his bike to train or race was likely a greater challenge that he faced everyday. Whatever the level of physical pain was due to the fracture, I'm certain that the guy was determined enough to get through it. Now, whether he had some unorthodox pharmacological assistance is anyone's guess.
He lived upstairs from us in Girona and was exceedingly nice. His vibe was definitely the nice guy type. When my wife was sick and pregnant he went to a number of local pharmacies to find Pepto Bismol for her after our failed attempts; he did this without asking!
I was out motorpacing LA and GH near Girona on one particularly blustery day when we came upon Tyler on a fixed gear BMC. It was impressive and would have been painful. He was the only rider I ever saw using one.
 
Jul 23, 2009
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hscoach2 said:
I believed at the time, but it really stretched credulity when, in the last km of that epic breakaway stage win (it still WAS that), he first extended his right arm to shake hands with Bjarne as they were presumably doing about 25-30 km/h, and then RAISED his arms overhead in victory!
Ya beat me to it.

Cool story TexPat.
 
Jul 25, 2010
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I had a traffic accident a few weeks ago where I got knocked off my bike by a car. I suffered a fractured shoulder blade. It's pretty painful but bearable & if it weren't for my broken wrist that makes it too painful to hold onto the handlebars properly I'd be back riding already. I'm a normal person. If I was in the biggest race of my career & with a team of doctors looking after me & with the right pain meds I could ride thru my injuries.
 
Aug 13, 2009
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buckwheat said:
This guy is eating 7 to 8,000 calories a day with a bunch of effed up teeth?

Part of the problem was that Tyler did not eat enough. He was a manorexic, obsessed with loosing weight. He body was so robbed of nutrition that his bones were brittle. The smallest crash would crack something
 
May 14, 2010
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For me the story that really stretches credulity is when he supposedly broke his scapula (shoulder blade) and kept racing. I broke the same bone in a crash, along with a few ribs, and could barely stand to move even with strong narcotics. Racing up mountains on a bike? Fougeddaboutit. Really just not possible.

And does anyone know what pain medications are allowed in a Pro Tour race under such circumstances?
 
Jul 25, 2010
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Maxiton said:
For me the story that really stretches credulity is when he supposedly broke his scapula (shoulder blade) and kept racing. I broke the same bone in a crash, along with a few ribs, and could barely stand to move even with strong narcotics. Racing up mountains on a bike? Fougeddaboutit. Really just not possible.

And does anyone know what pain medications are allowed in a Pro Tour race under such circumstances?

That's the one I broke. If it was just the scapula then that's not too bad, he could carry on racing imho. If he had other injuries like yourself then maybe not. Rib injuries are alot more painful.
 
Jan 27, 2010
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Technically speaking, a non-displaced fracture, without angulation or impaction although still painful can be treated conservatively. If the periosteum is trangressed, which is very painful and sounds like TH had, one possible treatment could include injecting some Marcaine into the fracture plane. There it would last for 4-8 hours depending on the individual. This is routinely done for athletes in contact sports during playoffs.

Just saying, and not validating anything that TH did or didn't do.

NW
 
Jul 29, 2010
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TexPat said:
My view is that Tyler had a much bigger problem than a fractured clavicle, and that was mental anguish... His vibe was definitely the nice guy type. .

TP, not sure I understand. Are you suggesting that b/c he was a "nice guy", Tyler was in a state of constant mental anguish about living a lie, ie doping??

Not sure if I agree. These boys made big money playing the game as they did. Didn't Tyler crack $1M/yr when he went to Phonak? I'm thinking he did, or if not,was close.

Combine the "everyone else is doing it" mindset, along w/ life-changing big money contracts... I'm sure he slept fine at night.
 
Jun 19, 2009
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pedaling squares said:
Ya beat me to it.

Cool story TexPat.

What you said. I think it was more press worthy than real displacement of a bone. Everyone loves the underdog.
As for his mental state; if he could get to sleep at night and get rest and once a race started his mind would clear pretty fast. As for the long solo escapade....everyone knows why he was able to do that.
 
Thanks for the story TexPat. The only people I know that know Tyler have always said pretty much the same about him. Very friendly guy.

I remember the 2003 break the same way Scott So Cal described it.

If I recall correctly in 1983 Pascal Simon tried to continue on wearing the maillot jaune with a badly broken scapula (or collarbone?) and lasted until he had to significantly climb. Ruined the chances of Anderson, Millar and Roche, who had to protect him, but they probably would not have won anyway...
 
JPM London said:
IIRC FLoyd clarified himself in an interview when he was selling his "fabulous" book that it wasn't replaced. Saying something along the lines of if it had been replaced there had been no way he'd have been riding again and that it was because of this new and less intrusive method he was able to... So although he was a lying, cheating buster back then it seems he wasn't selling the "fictional myth" based on this...

Anyway, IIRC only!

There's not much difference between a replacement and a resurfacing. The distinction matters most to the companies making the prosthetics. It's a major surgery, and the patient ends up with a bunch of non-organic material permanently in place of what used to be bone in the hip socket and the ball of the leg.

It's fair enough to criticise Landis for what he has really done, but trying to hang him on the minor difference between hip replacement and resurfacing is puerile.

-dB
 
Oldman said:
What you said. I think it was more press worthy than real displacement of a bone. Everyone loves the underdog.
As for his mental state; if he could get to sleep at night and get rest and once a race started his mind would clear pretty fast. As for the long solo escapade....everyone knows why he was able to do that.

OK, I have to stop you right here and ask exactly what "everybody knows" that Tyler was doing at this point in time that was very much different from what everybody else was doing.
Could it not be enough to say that he stayed away to the finish because he was one tough little MFer and because he was 20 some minutes back and, oh yeah he was as doped to the gills as everybody else?
 
Alpe d'Huez said:
Thanks for the story TexPat. The only people I know that know Tyler have always said pretty much the same about him. Very friendly guy.

I remember the 2003 break the same way Scott So Cal described it.

If I recall correctly in 1983 Pascal Simon tried to continue on wearing the maillot jaune with a badly broken scapula (or collarbone?) and lasted until he had to significantly climb. Ruined the chances of Anderson, Millar and Roche, who had to protect him, but they probably would not have won anyway...

Broke his shoulder the day after Millar's first stage win at Bagneres de Luchon. The Peugeot team were blocking the road and Jonathan Boyer rode into Bernard Bourreau, who fell on his team leader knocking him into a ditch. Millar had already lost about twenty minutes on the cobbles in Northern France, but Anderson was poised for at least a podium position. With no Hinault it was a wide open race (Fignon being more or less unheard of).

They kept the jersey for six days - including an uphill TT on Puy de Dome - but Simon eventually had to climb off on the road to Alpe d'Huez.

Great memories. My first Tour...
 
Feb 14, 2010
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"They [his CSC squad] left the decision up to me," says Hamilton. "I didn't want to give up. At first I thought for sure it was over. But there were three doctors and one was a little bit optimistic and said that the collarbone was still together; it had a v-fracture but he said it was relatively stable. If I didn't crash again, it was probably going to stay together. He said if I could handle the pain, then maybe it was possible to continue."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2004/jun/28/cycling.tourdefrance2004
 
Jun 10, 2009
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JPM London said:
And the way ugly bandages he rode the rest of the tour with were just for fun and maintaining the myth he was injured...

I think it was broken - and that a broken collarbone can have different degrees of severity... It clearly wasn't so bad he had to withdraw. I'm not sure, but aren't there other stories of people riding with broken collarbones? There definitely are stories of people riding with other fractures...

In addition, he was clearly pumped full of whatever he used...

As for the tooth story - no idea, but I have no reason to doubt it outright.

I remember a few years back a downhill MTBer (sorry to pollute the road forum with heresy:p) who broke their hand during qualifying rode the final with it taped with fingers around the bar (was it Peaty?). Had to swap brakes over so he could use the front with the unbroken hand, and go without a rear brake entirely.
Sure, a downhill run only lasts a few minutes so it's not equivalent to putting up with it for weeks of a GT, but the amount of punishment in those few minutes can be pretty severe.
 
May 20, 2010
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NashbarShorts said:
TP, not sure I understand. Are you suggesting that b/c he was a "nice guy", Tyler was in a state of constant mental anguish about living a lie, ie doping??

Not sure if I agree. These boys made big money playing the game as they did. Didn't Tyler crack $1M/yr when he went to Phonak? I'm thinking he did, or if not,was close.

Combine the "everyone else is doing it" mindset, along w/ life-changing big money contracts... I'm sure he slept fine at night.

No, I'm not suggesting that his conscience got the better of him necessarily--though my highly subjective judgment of character leads me to believe that this is within the realm of possibility. Like Floyd, I think that Tyler is basically a good human being.
What I was referring to is the effect that his well known depression would have had on everything he undertook.
I doubt that he sleeps well.
 
buckwheat said:
Ever have throbbing pain from a broken bone?

I actually did once - only I didn't know it was broken!

Have always had relatively weak ancles and have twisted them many times. One time running along a trail in winter, the ground frozen, I stepped right where the trail changed level and twisted so badly the other runners said they had never seen anything like it. Well, I could sort of walk on it so I continued staggering.

Later, when I was resting it, it swell to the size about an orange and someone told me to see a doctor - which I thought was a bit silly, after all it just needed a bit of rest!

The doctor said that since I could walk on it, it was fine - although he didn't like the size of it. In the end he sent me for an x-ray - revealing a fracture my foot was in a cast for 3 weeks and could do no sports for another 3 weeks or so...

dbrower said:
There's not much difference between a replacement and a resurfacing...

It's fair enough to criticise Landis for what he has really done, but trying to hang him on the minor difference between hip replacement and resurfacing is puerile.

-dB

Thanks for the clarification - agree completely.

dsut4392 said:
I remember a few years back a downhill MTBer...

Sure, a downhill run only lasts a few minutes so it's not equivalent to putting up with it for weeks of a GT, but the amount of punishment in those few minutes can be pretty severe.

And a lot more aggravating! I think I'd actually prefer the long, constant pain than the few minutes of utter hell... Well, I'd prefer none of them to be honest...