23/01: From TDU GC Challenger to Asphalt Surfer!
Baden Cooke was sitting on the wheel of eventual stage winners Rabobank Team for most of yesterdays gruelling stage in the TDU. Cooke’s UNI.SA team mates Matty Wilson and Simon Clarke where in the break that also included O'Grady, Rogers, Armstrong, and 10 other crème of the peleton. With 2 in the break there was no need to panic and get his teammates to chase, Cooke just sat on the back of Rabobank train and “Picked my nose while they did all the work”. He reported this morning. “I was feeling fantastic and on the climbs I was just tapping over the pedals, sitting easy while I watched as the other contenders looked to be feeling the days relentless action.”
“I could not have been in a better position all day and was really feeling good for a stage win. We were descending at around 75kph on a long straight when in an instant I was on the asphalt with my teammate landing on top of me surfing me down the road. Then another fell onto of me and then another as I continued to slide on the right side of my body along the asphalt.” Cooke said while standing to show the skin missing from his body from his right shoulder all the way down to his ankle.
A rider, 2 wheels in front of Baden had apparently had a stick blow into his spokes in the windy conditions and came down right in front of him. At 75kph Baden could do nothing and also hit the ground in a blink of an eye as other riders piled up on top of him. The Victorian former Tour De France Green Jersey winner was starting to find some great form after competing in both the Jayco Bay Classic and the Australian National titles. In stage one of this years TDU he looked the faster of the sprinters in the race to the line. Its arguable that if he didn’t have to jump off the throttle and change direction when Robbie McEwen was struck by that infamous camera it would have been a different podium.
It was an unlucky crash for Baden leaves for Europe on Tuesday to join his new team for 2009; VACANSOLEIL. You can stay tuned to Baden’s career this year on his website
“I could not have been in a better position all day and was really feeling good for a stage win. We were descending at around 75kph on a long straight when in an instant I was on the asphalt with my teammate landing on top of me surfing me down the road. Then another fell onto of me and then another as I continued to slide on the right side of my body along the asphalt.” Cooke said while standing to show the skin missing from his body from his right shoulder all the way down to his ankle.
A rider, 2 wheels in front of Baden had apparently had a stick blow into his spokes in the windy conditions and came down right in front of him. At 75kph Baden could do nothing and also hit the ground in a blink of an eye as other riders piled up on top of him. The Victorian former Tour De France Green Jersey winner was starting to find some great form after competing in both the Jayco Bay Classic and the Australian National titles. In stage one of this years TDU he looked the faster of the sprinters in the race to the line. Its arguable that if he didn’t have to jump off the throttle and change direction when Robbie McEwen was struck by that infamous camera it would have been a different podium.
It was an unlucky crash for Baden leaves for Europe on Tuesday to join his new team for 2009; VACANSOLEIL. You can stay tuned to Baden’s career this year on his website