the race ambulance on the way to the hospital. Really, though, I was quite lucky.

About 35km into the race, we were descending around a left corner. I was sitting about 10 riders back, when, all of a sudden, the front end of my bike was stopping while the rear end was launching me over the bars like superman.  Unlike, superman, though, I landed on the asphalt fully extended. I spun around and stopped against the guardrail. I looked up and then back down in a split second so that someone could ride up and over my helmet and not my face.  Then, I felt everything...and Oh...my body and my finger.  When I looked at my finger and could see a big chunk of flesh missing, I knew it was bad, and that I would have to stop.

Someone yanked off my gloves while I was on the ground. Then, they put me in the ambulance that follows the race.  Inside, the doctor started to assess the damages.  The finger was quite painful.  The gash was deep, and in order for the doctor and nurse to do what they needed to do, they injected me in my shoulder and then again directly into the finger. OUCH! He squirted solutions in it and wrapped it up...a few different times, actually.  It wasn’t pleasant.  There was some numbness but not complete.  While all this was going on, the nurse was cutting off my clothing and scrubbing the rest of my wounds. To top things off, we had to follow the last group to the finish before we could go to the hospital.  This made for a very slow transport.   But the doctor had concluded I was "ok enough," and that I could wait to go to the hospital with him after the race. (This was best since he spoke English.)

And that was just round 1.

Round 2 happened at the hospital. The race doctor, who I had come to love, stayed with me and worked with the hospital staff.  Yowsers.  Exploratory surgery on the finger needed to be done.  There was no need to cut anything open, but I still needed local anesthesia. That required a shot to each side of the joint at the knuckle. Ouwie. That was worse than the shots into it earlier. While the anesthesia was taking effect, we went to get some x-rays. Good news. Nothing looked to be broken. There were only soft tissue issues.

It was then back to the ER area for more fun.  The doctors did their exploration in two parts. I was fully awake and aware during both.  Even though I could still try to flex the finger for the surgeon, it was numb.  For once, I was actually glad that I did not understand Italian.  I didn’t really want to hear them talk about what they were doing.  After part 1, Dr. Steffano (aka the race doc) told me good news. There was no tendon or bone damage and only a lesion on the nerve.  Sensitivity would come back.  After part 2, however, he told me he could not actually close the wound.  There was not enough skin.  (That will probably require a skin graft and is why I am flying immediately to my doctor. I should know more on Friday morning.)

Anyway, round 2 was over and round 3 was about to begin. Yeah, that is what I said when I realized we still weren't finished.

Everything had to be scrubbed and disinfected.  And, all of the stones had to be picked out of me. I landed in a bunch of loose asphalt, so I had little stones in both elbows and my side. There was also a little asphalt in my quad. The biggest surprise to the doctor, though, was the stone in the left elbow. (And perhaps that is why it hurt so bad, and there were fragments visible on the elbow  x-ray!) It was pretty substantial, and it left a big hole.  He checked to make sure there was no nerve damage first.  Then, he gave it a local injection of lidocaine for the pressure wash and stitches. Eye-yie-yie.

I was finally done. I think it was about 7pm.

During the entire ordeal, I didn't watch the doctors do anything, but I did watch the various nurses and techs look at what was going on while the doctors worked. They would all have the same expression of curiosity.  (I think it was probably better than a text book picture.) Then, they would look at me, pat my cheek and smile. Some tried to speak with me, too.  I honestly didn't mind. It was a mental distraction.

The funny thing was that they knew I was the world champion and wanted an autograph. It was funny b/c they had witnessed the wounds, and they still wanted me to hold a pen! I promised that I would mail them photos instead. They agreed and settled for the promise and a few kisses on the cheek. (That is proper Italian.)

Then, to top off the experience, I went back to the hotel in the ambulance with the doctor and nurse who had been with me all day.  Since all the teams and race organization people were at the same hotel, they gave me a ride. Quite the grand entrance.  When I arrived, I was greeted by various members of the peloton who were there to check on me.

I was also greeted by all of my concerned teammates and staff. I was sure happy to see them, and I think they were happy to see me, too. We hung out in my room, and I told them my stories.  They also took care of me. They had a plate of vegetables waiting for me.  Perfect.  I also couldn't shower, but I really needed to wash my hair.  Sus helped me do that, while my other roommate, Regina, packed my bag for my flight, and then she found me some more food.

I couldn’t sleep, but 6am finally arrived, and it was time to leave for the Rome airport.  As I write, I am in the midst of my trip back.

So that was my adventure... I probably gave you too many details, but it is a side of the sport that the outside world doesn't always get to see.

Many thanks go out to the race doctor who spoke English and stayed with me. He was fantastic. Also to the surgeon on call who turned out to be a hand specialist, and an answer to one prayer that I said in the ambulance. And of course, to the nurses and staff who were all very professional and caring.

So what happened??? I am not 100% sure, but this is what I think. Sus was 4 riders behind me, and she said that a Spanish rider was flying/crashing from the inside of the corner to the outside and slid into me.  I also noticed a big rock in the road while I was prone on the ground.  The instant before my launch, I felt my front wheel stop.  Either as the spanish rider was crashing into me, I also hit the rock which catapulted me forward, or it was just the other rider stopping me. I don't know for sure.  It really was instantaneous.

Ok. So a new obstacle to overcome, but I will make a new plan and go forward. I will focus on healing and doing what I can do for the moment.  I will trust God’s plan and rely on my husband, coach, and family to help me keep the big picture in mind, too.  These kinds of things can make you stronger, if you can work through them.

I will keep you posted.