Saturday, July 11, 2009

In the Heat of the Moment

First of all, I would like to clear up a mishap at Blue Island Crit. In the final two laps I was towards the rear of the pack. The pack was squirrelly and riders were trying to position for spots all over. In a moment of haste I quickly came out to my right to catch on another rider’s wheel. My rear tire took out another rider’s front wheel and caused a serious crash. I even took out my own team mate (sorry Bob). I sincerely apologize for this mishap and my poor judgment. I went back to get some info on the rider that went down. A course marshal informed me that Chris from Naperville of Team ABD went down. I am sorry Bro. It was unintentional and totally not my style, nor is it our teams’ style or tactics. My team and I make every effort to race clean and fair. I wanted to address this matter ASAP so others may not misinterpret my actions. In the future I will commit to riding in a safer manner. I want all of us to come home safely to our families. We all want to do well but clearly not at that price…


E

3 comments:

Paolo said...

So you were racing and it caused a crash.

Boohoo.

I am not making light of the situation as I believe its an honest assesment of what went down in a race - but a race is unfortunately a race, and not every rider can anticipate 'everything' around them. I've read many posts on the web about crashes and its amazing how every single one (including yours) is simply a racing casualty.

It happens - your intentions are well meant. Kudos.

The rider behind you - well, should anticipate such friction and know how to crash too. Bummer on the deal...

Make sure your team learns the tuck and roll principle, practice at Dan Ryan Woods or at Palos. Its a skill we teach the young'n dirtbaggers. It's a great skill to learn 'how' to go down.

Rock on and be safe out there - crashing and inadvertently causing a crash are a part of racing hard.

Anonymous said...

Elvis, your Blue Island post was not necessary, but admirable and appreicated none the less. The crash had serious consequences for me that day and knowing that there is a sense of responsibility and future caution helps me personally.

That being said, I signed the same waiver you did. It is part of the deal. Good luck and stay safe the rest of the year.

Chris Karsten - ABD

Anonymous said...

Elvis,

Thought you might want to know that it seems Chris is recovering well. At first, his doctors weren't sure what he was going to be able to do as his hip was crushed. I have been receiving his updates and he is now able to ride a stationary bike and is in very good spirits.

Thought you might want to know.