North American Scum

From the beginning of the Amstel Gold, I found myself wondering how Ryder Hesjedal was fairing.  The former mountain bike superstar turned road machine was near the front all day and went with what looked like a potential winning move near the end of the race.  That break didn't hold and he ended up around 35th on the day.

Apparently, Ryder also got the joy of peeing in a cup postrace.

The finish at the Amstel isn't all the way up the Cauberg so after crossing the line, the riders still have to climb another quarter mile to get to where their team buses are parked.  We saw Ryder shortly after he finished slowly spinning his way up toward his bus.  He looked completely tanked and that 'I just rode my ass off' expression marked his face.  Without any premeditation, I yelled out, "Good job, Ryder.  Way to work man!!"

Chalk it up to hearing North American English, but his head popped up and he looked over to give us a head nod and return my wave.  After weeks of what I would guess is hearing people yell in everything but his native tongue, it looked it he may have thought it nice just to hear something familiar.