After managing to survive ten stages of the Tour de France with a broken wrist, including a day over the cobbles, the Alps, and a number of strong sprint finishes, Garmin's sprinter Tyler Farrar finally had to call it a day.
“I am devastated to leave the Tour and my teammates. You never want to leave any race but especially the Tour. It’s the event we work for all year. I’ve been suffering since my crash on Stage 2 and today, the pain was just too much. I couldn’t push through. I wanted to get to Paris more than anything. Instead, I’ll be watching my teammates from home. That’s not where I want to be. But I know they’ll continue to make us proud, and I’ll be cheering louder than anyone. I want to thank them again now for everything they’ve done for me.”
Farrar, a winner of stages in both the Vuelta and Giro, still managed a 2nd, 3rd, and 10th in sprint finishes after his crash on the second road stage of the Tour. In the last couple of years, the rider has emerged from promising talent to one of the world's absolute best in the final 200 meters of a bike race. Farrar and the team's goals were big coming into the Tour de France: a stage win and a go at the Maillot Vert were high on the priority list, but it all came crashing down on the treacherous descent of the Stockeu in Stage 2.
Director sportif, Matt White, has had to endure watching the greater portion of his team fall victim to a terrible series of crashes and injury throughout the 2010 Tour de France. White explains why today's stage proved to be the undoing of this year's Scheldeprijs winner: “Sprints are easier for Tyler to get through because the adrenaline in that situation helps mask the pain. Today was the hardest day of the race yet and the kind of climbing and descending these guys did is incredibly painful for an injury like Tyler’s. Having to break on the descents is probably the most painful thing to do with a broken wrist. We’re obviously sad to see him go but at the end of the day, his health comes first. Tyler won’t be able to heal until he goes home and rests and that’s what he’ll do from here. To make it all the way to Stage 12 with the injuries he’s had is something special. We’re proud of him for his effort and everything he has accomplished here.”
Things appeared to be going better for this year's 5th place finisher at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Farrar put together strong sprints over the last few days, and once again, his team showed that they can do a leadout to rival anyone in the business, though yesterday's sprint was not a model of beauty on either the Garmin or HTC-Columbia side. The resumption of warring through the hills of France proved to be just a little bit too much for the Wenatchee, Washington native, and he was dropped in the early goings of today's 210 km slog to Mende.
Team CEO, and former sufferer of numerous tales of misfortune at the Tour de France, Jonathan Vaughters, is proud of both Farrar and his beleaguered team.
“We’ve had four guys with broken bones at this Tour. With Tyler’s departure from the race, we now have three at home. Sure, we’ve had bad luck, but look at what these guys have gone through to get this far into the race. Even with a broken wrist and sprained elbow, Tyler has run second and third in sprints. He rode Stage Three – kilometer after kilometer of cobbles – almost entirely with one hand. He has persevered to get to this stage of the race. That shows his own strength and the strength of this team. Ryder has been having the ride of his life here, with another incredible day today. We may not have luck on our side at the moment, but we have a team of great, tough riders who will continue to be competitive here.”
Farrar won't be spending too much time at home though. Feltet.dk reports that Farrar is on the team's roster for the upcoming Tour of Denmark, which starts August 4th. Farrar will line up with Svein Tuft, Travis Meyer, Michel Kreder, Kirk Carlsen, Steven Cozza, Timmy Duggan, and Danny Pate. The next big goal on the agenda of one of the fast riders in the world will be the Vuelta in September.