Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) says that he's still "pretty sore" after crashing out of the Giro d'Italia with a broken pelvis last week, and will now enjoy a bit of downtime before starting active recovery and building for next season.
Thomas crashed after hitting a stray water bottle soon after the start of stage 3 of the Giro last week, and although he finished the stage, and x-rays initially revealed that he hadn't broken anything, further x-rays the next morning revealed a fractured pelvis, forcing him out of the race.
"Physically, I'm still pretty sore, to be honest," Thomas told Welsh-language broadcaster S4C this week. "Probably having [young son] Macsen doesn't help, chasing him around. I'm still pretty sore when I'm walking, with a bit of a gangster lean, but I've got a crutch to help. It's just going to take a bit of time."
Thomas said that he remembers everything about the crash, and that he immediately had the same feeling as when he fractured his pelvis after crashing at the 2013 Tour de France.
"I remember seeing this orange thing at the last minute, which was the bottle," he explained. "I think my front wheel might have just clipped it because I remember my left hand just slipping on the bars, and I wasn't in control on my left hand-side, and then the back wheel took me down.
"I remember thinking I'd saved, or half-saved, it at the time, and then straightening up a bit and then wobbling again and hitting the deck," Thomas recalled. "I remember there was this old guy, and I landed by his feet, and he tried picking me up straight away, and I was, like, 'Woah – slow down a bit,' because I was obviously breathing fast and wondering, 'What's just happened?' because I was on the floor in a split second.
"I remember feeling a dead leg, and it was the exact same feeling as when I'd fractured my pelvis in the Tour in 2013. Deep down, I thought, 'It's not right.' I wasn't sure if it was fractured, but I knew it would take a bit of time to recover from, whatever the damage was. I got back to my feet when I knew I could move my legs. I'd hit the back of my head slightly, but the majority of the impact went down my left side and my hip."
Now, Thomas faces a few more days off the bike completely before likely being able to slowly build up his strength and fitness once more.
"I've seen a specialist, and they've said two weeks without the bike – no riding," he said. "And then another MRI in about a month, and [I have to] just limit the walking.
"But it's the off-season anyway, so I'll just enjoy the time at home," said Thomas. "It's just a strange feeling, because when you finish a season, even if it's been bad, it's tough and long – you've done a lot of racing and you're looking forward to the break. Whereas this one, it feels like I was just about to get going and now the season's done.
"Its quite strange not doing anything, as it doesn't feel like I've earned this break physically, even though, mentally, I definitely have. I haven't shown people what I could have done, but that's the way this year is and you've got to keep it in perspective; my troubles are minimal compared to what's going on in the world right now, so I've just got to look forward to next year and enjoy the beers.
"I've had a few since I crashed out – I'm not going to lie," he admitted. "I've made the most of that, and it'll make November and December a bit harder, as always, burning off the Welsh cakes and the beers, but there we go."
Watch the full video interview here.
You can watch live, free-to-air coverage and highlights of the Giro d'Italia across the UK on S4C and on demand at S4C Clic and iPlayer. Live coverage begins at 1.00pm every day. For details on how to watch S4C and S4C Clic, click here.
