Cycling: Dean happy to be one of the Tour de France pack

4.00pm

It seems cruel to think of Paris in the summer when you're injured and consigned to a wind trainer indoors, but that was the plight confronting Julian Dean.

On Saturday, the Waihi-born and raised professional rider, will start cycling's icon race, the Tour de France, after being selected for the nine-man Credit Agricole team.

He will become just the eighth New Zealander to contest the race and the first since Chris Jenner in 2001.

It's a position Dean, a two-time Olympian who is set for his third Games in Athens in August, thought was unlikely when he came a cropper in France's Tour de Dunkerque in May.

Dean, 29, said yesterday he was not surprised to have made the team after taking part in this month's Tour of Switzerland, but he amazed himself in overcoming serious injury to take his place in the three-week showcase.

He suffered two broken elbows in the "freak accident" which he remembers little about and which would have signalled the end of most riders' Tour de France aspirations.

The crash sidelined him for six weeks.

"I don't really know what happened. We weren't going that fast, some guys in front of me had a crash and I figure I probably put my arms out and they took the impact," Dean said from his home in Spain.

Home became base camp during his recovery as Dean found himself with his busted arms in slings for a week and doctors advising him not to get out on the road for at least three to four weeks, to allow the impact fractures to heal.

For Dean it was a tortuous confinement, a diet of four walls and a wind trainer for twice-daily riding sessions as he drove himself to keep some semblance of fitness with the Tour de France looming.

"You can only do so much at home on a wind trainer... mentally it was very difficult stuck in the house all day and training for four to five hours at a time. It was very difficult," he said.

Wife Carole kept his spirits high and Dean broke the training up to reduce the monotony.

"I listened to music, divided my trainings up with different exercises to make time go as best as possible.

"It was not easy by any means but the thought of the tour, the possibility of going to it, kept me going."

Dean got back out on the road for the Tour of Switzerland and completed the nine-stage tour, finishing 71st overall and convincing Credit Agricole management he could fulfil a support role for teammate and fellow sprint specialist Thor Hushovd, of Norway.


Dean will be charged with clearing the air and positioning a fresh as possible Hushovd to power home during the 20 stages on the Tour de France.

The dream of taking part in the race had been growing for Dean, who is in his sixth year on the European pro circuit.

"I was getting to the stage of my career where I thought it would be a shame if I didn't do a Tour de France," he said.

However, there is a slight touch of disappointment in the role Dean will be riding in 2004.

Before the accident he was a frontrunner for a higher profile position in his team.

"For me it's not the ideal circumstances in which I'd dreamt about going to the tour but I'm happy to be going," he said.

Dean said it would be better than watching the tour on television and his main goal was to help his teammates.

"The idea is to take it one day at a time. Whether I can finish will be another story... if I can get through the first 10 days without any injuries or crashes then I'll take it as it comes.

"I'd really like to finish the whole race, I'm starting with that in mind but the team have other riders you have objectives for as well," he said.

Five-time winner Lance Armstrong is Dean's pick to win this year's race.

Dean said the American, who was recently accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs in the past, was "a crafty cat and a super athlete".

He said when those two qualities were put together it spelt six-time winner.

"He's got a lot more at stake here than anyone. He's probably more motivated than he's ever been".

The Credit Agricole team were to assemble in Liege, Belgium, tonight (NZ time) and Dean said they would spend the next few days looking over a few of the race stages.

He is confident riding in the Tour de France will not impact negatively on his preparation for the Olympic Games.

Dean will have three weeks at his base in Spain between the tour and heading to Athens and he plans to race a couple of events during that time.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)