Siren calls twice for Dean

Julian Dean. Photo / Supplied

Professional cyclists are familiar with the arrival of ambulances. It is an accepted part of a job which involves flying down a hill at 70km/h in close proximity to your competitors. Having said that, getting two ambulance rides in a day is rare - yet it happened to New Zealand's best road rider Julian Dean in March.

The 36-year-old started his seventh Tour de France overnight with the Garmin-Cervelo team. The 191km opening stage on France's Atlantic coast forms part of a 3430km tour mixing 10 flatter stages with nine mountain stages, as well as individual and team time trials.

To put Dean's achievement in perspective, former Kiwi riders Tino Tabak and Eric Mackenzie are next on the endurance list, starting four tours each. However, the chances of Dean being lead-out man for his team-mates Norwegian Thor Hushovd and American Tyler Farrar looked slim when he crashed on the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya in Spain in late March.

Dean was rushed to hospital for X-rays which cleared him of a suspected neck fracture before he was dropped off to the airport by his team. Vomiting in the airport lounge meant he missed his flight and, while waiting in the queue to board his new flight, he passed out. Another ambulance siren was soon wailing in the distance to take him to a second hospital in Barcelona.

The staff thought he was off the street and had taken too many drugs. The discovery of his fresh "road rash" eventually convinced them his story was legitimate. Dean's wife Carole described how a muddled husband rang on a borrowed mobile at 2am to let her know he was okay. Delayed concussion was the problem. He was ordered to stay off his bike for three days. That wasn't a problem - he soon contracted a bout of flu which kept him and his family bed-ridden for the duration.

A master of the understatement, Dean says it was a difficult period: "Head injuries can be more taxing than you think but I'm back on my feet now. It didn't seem quite that dramatic at the time but I passed out and woke up in hospital. When I regained my wits, I realised it was all a bit freaky." He hasn't had second thoughts about continuing, despite his young family and the recent death of Belgian Wouter Weylandt after his crash on the Giro d'Italia.

"Anything you do in any walk of life has its risks. Wouter's death had an effect; it made everyone wonder about the risks in our sport. Anyone in any workplace who has had someone die knows how terrible it feels."

Pedigree and respect have played their part getting Dean fast-tracked back into the nine-man Garmin-Cervelo team.

"The team has shown some trust and faith. That's what it comes down to; having been there and done that, they have few doubts you can do it again. Originally from Waihi, Dean has been racing in Europe for 13 years. He's settled just outside Valencia with Carole and their children Tanner and Val. As the only man to complete all three grand tours of France, Spain and Italy in 2009 and getting three podium finishes on stages four, 18 and 20 last year with Farrar's early exit, it remains a national mystery how he was not nominated for a Halberg award in either year.

Perhaps it is because of his job description. He will not win the Tour. Instead, he must be selfless and get team stars Hushovd and Farrar across the line; working off his wheel close to the finish. The team has indicated they want Hushovd - who once described Dean as the best lead-out man in the world - to contest stages with uphill endings with Farrar given the nod to compete on flatter, faster finishes.

"It'll be a tricky balance to find," Dean admits. "But it is a management decision. As a professional athlete, you offer your opinion but they've stipulated clearly about specific roles for specific riders on specific stages."

Management decisions are something which have counted against fellow Kiwi Tour de France contenders Hayden Roulston (HTC Highroad) and Greg Henderson (Team Sky). Dean has sympathy for both. Roulston has struggled back from injury after competing on Le Tour in 2009, while Henderson hasn't been able to seize an opportunity with Team Sky, who Dean describes as the "Real Madrid of the sport" - a reference to what are understood to be lucrative contracts. Dean wants to extend his contract and compete in Le Tour next year, followed by the road race at the 2012 London Olympics.