Lawson Craddock survived a fall and is racing for a cause at the Tour de France.
Cyclist from Houston turns his misfortune into chance to raise funds for velodrome
Of the original 176 men who started the Tour de France nine days and roughly 1,000 miles ago, 167 are on the road. Lawson Craddock is among them, although, for the moment, he trails the other 166 in the general classification.
The 26-year-old Education First-Drapac rider from Houston has been stuck in dead last in the yellow-jersey standings since taking a scary tumble the day cycling’s most storied race began.
But that is of marginal relevance because Craddock’s mission has changed.
“Lying in bed (the night of the crash),” Craddock said Saturday, “I was in a lot of pain. I was pretty down. But I asked myself, ‘What can I do to make this a good situation?’ ”
He thought back to his formative years, when, as a 10-yearold, he began to forge the skills and courage required to become a world-class cyclist on the track at the Alkek Velodrome, the west Houston circuit that took a major hit during the Hurricane Harvey flooding in August. He came up with the idea of having people donate $100 toward the facility’s refurbishment — much work was needed even before the water rose — for every stage of the Tour he finished, although he wasn’t certain that evening that he would hang on for even one more day.
‘Support … unbelievable’
But more than a week later, he remains on his bike and nearly $92,000 had been pledged (gofundme.com/lc039s-fight-forparis) by Sunday afternoon. If he can somehow keep going for 12 more stages, making it to the Champs-Élysées on July 29 …
“How can I quit now?” Craddock said. “I can’t. The support has been unbelievable. My mind is completely blown.”
Sunday’s treacherous, toothjarring ride into the gritty old industrial town of Roubaix near the Belgian border likely took a toll on Craddock’s aching body since the peloton had to negotiate the infamous cobblestones for far more miles than Craddock wanted. At least the pain in his shoulder, caused by the hairline fracture in his scapula that resulted from the crash, won’t get worse with Monday being the first of two rest days for the riders.
At least EF-Drapac’s medical people — Dr. Kevin Sprouse and physiotherapist Matt Rabin — have assured him he won’t do further harm as long as he doesn’t fall hard again.
It is going to come down to what Craddock can tolerate.
As cycling attempts to wean itself from a long-imbedded, performance-enhancing drug culture, even pain medication is forbidden. Craddock admits he doesn’t draw much inspiration from fellow American Tyler Hamilton’s racing to a fourthplace finish in the 2003 Tour despite a broken collarbone because there is no telling what was coursing through Hamilton’s veins and how it might have sustained him.
Hamilton, of course, was one of many from the era busted for doping.
“The difference is that I’m riding on Tylenol,” Craddock said. “The first couple of days were awful, really terrible. But I’ve come a long way because of Kevin and Matt. I’ve built up a high level of trust with them after everything I went through last year.”
No. 13 proves unlucky
Craddock, a former national junior road-racing champion, had started and finished his first Tour in 2016 but was plagued by a series of health problems in 2017 and could not get himself fit enough to be picked for the Tour team. After “fighting tooth and nail” to be one of EF-Darpac’s eight riders this summer, his straight-from-the-chute mishap was a cruel blow.
“They assigned me No. 13,” he said, forcing a laugh. “I blame it on that.”
Less than two hours from the Grand Départ in the Vendée on July 7, Craddock’s front wheel rolled over a water bottle that had been dropped by one of his fellow riders in the nervous chaos of the day’s first feed zone. He flew headfirst into the roadside crowd, colliding with a young woman. She suffered a broken collarbone. He was left with the fracture and a nasty gash over his left eye, which bled profusely and required multiple stitches.
Craddock was a gruesome
sight when he finished in Fontenay-le-Comte, but the French fans roundly applauded his grit, which has been on display daily since.
“It’s about managing the pain, being safe on the bike and not endangering anyone,” he said. “If I can do that, there’s no reason not to continue because I’m riding for something that’s a lot bigger than me. The money is going to revolutionize how things work (at the velodrome). Those guys have operated on such a tight budget, but every year they make it work. I love what they do. It’s incredibly inspirational to me.”