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Ryan Anderson persevering through a crash and climbs in his first Vuelta a España

"I've crashed before in a stage race, but never on Stage 2 with 19 more to go."

Ryan Anderson
August 30, 2016
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“It’s crazy. I’ve never done anything like this,” said Ryan Anderson.

The sole anglophone on the French pro continental team Direct Energie was speaking partly about Stage 9 of the Vuelta a España, in which the race was hard from the beginning. There was 60 km of fast-paced riding before a breakaway was finally established. Then, things settled down. Then, the riders faced multiple climbs at the end. But the rider from Spruce Grove, Alta., wasn’t just speaking about that stage, or the climb-heavy Stage 10 he had finished a few hours before. He was also speaking partly about the Vuelta itself.

Anderson was close to Lugones where Monday’s Stage 10 had started. He was looking ahead to his rest day, but wasn’t sure exactly what he would do after 10 straight days of racing. Sure, there was likely to be a later breakfast than usual. He’d probably drink a lot of coffee that day. “I’m definitely going to ride,” he said. ” I just don’t know for how long.” While the Grand Tour rookie is still finding his way in one of the biggest races on the calendar, he knew that he couldn’t spend his whole rest day off the bike. Stage 11 will see the peloton facing a steep finish with ramps hitting grades of 18 per cent. He didn’t want to take any chances.

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He had started the Vuelta with a bang, but it was the wrong kind of bang on Stage 2. “I don’t remember a whole lot from the moment of the crash to when I got back to the bus,” he said. “I was feeling really good that day. But everyone was feeling good because the day wasn’t that difficult. I think it was about 500 m to go; I was happy with where I was placed. Then, the road veered to the left, and then I think it came back. I think someone felt he was boxed in on the left barriers and tried to punch out to the right. He took out my front wheel. I went down, stopped dead. I looked at the [bike computer] file: it goes from 62 km to zero instantly. My head didn’t bang on the ground first, my body did. But then I definitely hit my head. I feel fine, but I was definitely a bit out of it.

“The next few days were a bit of a struggle. I was motivated to fight on and see what can happen. But there were some dark times. I’ve crashed before in a stage race, but never on Stage 2 with 19 more to go.”

While Ryan Anderson is in new territory, he does know riders at the race from the North American scene, which Anderson was immersed in before making the move to Direct Energie. Both he Chad Haga of Giant-Alpecin were on Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies in 2013. Of course, fellow Canadian Svein Tuft and Anderson rode together on SpiderTech in 2011 and on Symmetrics in 2008. “We try to joke at least once a day,” Anderson said. It’s actually more than just jokes, though. Tuft, who’s making his second appearance at the Vuelta and who’s in his 10th Grand Tour, has a lot of advice for the Anderson. “I’ve been relying on his experience. He basically tells me to sit up, get in the first gruppetto and save as much energy as possible,” Anderson joked. When he gets serious, he said that Tuft sees things that aren’t necessarily obvious from the race bible. Tuft tells the younger rider about what features to look out for. Also, Tuft knows all the players in the peloton very well. He advises Anderson as to which riders to follow when Anderson and those riders might have similar objectives.

Since Anderson is more of a sprinter, he does end up in one of the gruppettos that form during the many climber-centric Vuelta stages. “You see familiar faces every day,” he said. “These races create more of a bond between riders in the gruppettos. Lots of guys I don’t know so well have come up to me to ask me if I’m all right. I’ve never experienced that before.”

In the coming days, Ryan Anderson, who is feeling better after that crash, is hoping to find opportunities on the more sprinter-friendly stages. On Stage 2, he felt he could have finished in the top-10. He’s also looking for more long-term results following his first Grand Tour. “I hope it changes me: that is what I’m hanging for! I hope to be a better rider after it’s all said and done,” he said. “The depth and the strength and the feeling you get in the legs day after day, you can get that in other races, but they just aren’t as long. I’m only 10 days in and still really pushing on the pedals. I’m building on my capacity to suffer and building on the base that I have.”