kwc blog

Zabriskie

Zabriskie's out of yellow after his terrible crash today, which is now being blamed on a skipped chain. Less than one mile from the finish he fell to the pavement, slid, and hit the barrier. He rode a replacement bike in, slowly, and with his head down. If he hadn't fell, he would at least be tied for the overall, and more likely be in the yellow jersey. (Update: Zabriskie is saying he doesn't know what happened, and team manager Riis' speculation is that DZ's knee hit his elbow, but this is one that will probably never be known)

I hope this isn't a dramatic conclusion to what has been an amazing start by Zabriskie in this year's Tour -- the news is reporting cuts and bruises but no broken bones. His performance on stage 1 was beyond even Armstrong and he's major reason why Team CSC is a match for Team Discovery this year. He's won a stage in all three Grand Tours and his interviews, by far, are the most entertaining, involving topics like using the Credit Lyonnais stuffed lions (prize for the overall leader) as pillows and the difficulties of finding a place to go to the bathroom when all eyes are on you.

I've posted some more photos from Zabriskie's win at Morgan Hill to commemorate his three days in yellow. He won't have the chance again this year, but everyone's taken notice of him now, and with Armstrong retiring Zabriskie will be one of the young American cyclists carrying the banner of American cycling forward.