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While other athletes time their training to peak at the Olympics, the Tour de France cyclists arrive with their bodies still hurting from a brutal 3,497-kilometre trek. cheap nfl jerseys . Some, like Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, crashed en route and have the scars to prove it. Flying off your bike at close to 70 km per hour into a tangle of bodies, machinery and unforgiving tarmac is hardly an ideal entree to the Summer Games. But such is the harsh world of elite road racing, where breaking down your body is par for the course. "Its a hard sport," Hesjedal said dryly from his home in Girona, Spain. The 31-year-old from Victoria was hurt July 6 during the sixth stage of the Tour, one of at least two dozen riders caught up in a nasty crash with 26 kilometres left on the day. In the carnage of the crash, the Giro dItalia winner went down and suffered road rash to his hip, knee and ankle. But the real damage came when, upon impact, his leg slammed into another riders bike. "Just like a baseball bat being swung into your leg," Hesjedal said by way of description. At six foot two and 159 pounds, wearing only a thin uniform, theres not lot of padding. A bloody Hesjedal, who started the day in ninth place overall, picked himself up and finished the ride. He had fallen 99 places in the standings. "When youre getting crashed that way and people are on top of you and youve taken the energy of other riders all together, the body doesnt stand up very good," he told The Canadian Press. "But in the big picture, Im very lucky. I didnt break anything or have any major tearing of something. Its just unfortunate the one main thing just didnt let me function properly so I could really race at that point." That thing would be his leg. The impact occurred just below his hip — "the crease in the leg where youre pedalling." "Once theres hematoma damage in there, the leg just doesnt function properly," he added. Hesjedal withdrew from the race and returned to Spain. Amazingly, after a travel day, he was back on a home training bike the next day for an hour. "Kind of the worst thing you can do is stop completely for a few days and let the leg seize up," he said. He kept adding to his daily routine on the bike — one hour on the trainer, then two hours on the road then three, then four. That was accompanied by daily therapy. As his leg loosened, there was more pain elsewhere — this time in the ribs. Spasms that were another hangover of the crash. But Hesjedal says his body is recovering well. "I feel good on the bike," he reported. "Its hard to say unless I did a world-calibre race tomorrow where the real feeling is." Hesjedal, who was scheduled to leave Monday for London, will find out soon enough at the Olympics. He races July 28 in the road race and Aug. 1 in the individual time trial. Unlike the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where he was accompanied in the road race by fellow Canadians Michael Barry and Svein Tuft, Hesjedal will be on his own in London. The world governing body of the sports allocates Olympic berths by points. They are hard to come by at the elite level because Canada has so few top riders. And, according to Barry, Canada did not enter enough riders in continental competition to help make up the shortfall. So while countries like Australia, Britain, Italy and Spain are able to enter five-man teams in Londons road race, Canada has just Hesjedal. A disappointed Barry, who came ninth in the 2008 road race, will root Hesjedal on from the sidelines. "I think its a disappointment really for all the Canadian professionals and especially given how well Ryder has performed this year," Barry said from his home in Spain. "Its a shame for him, because it would have been great for him to go there with a couple of teammates this year. Because obviously with a couple of teammates our chances of getting a great result there would have been much better. Its too bad really." Hesjedal, who finished 55th in Beijing 2008 after spending some time in a large breakway group, will be a lone wolf. "Hell just have to race conservatively until the right moment and then try and strike," said Barry. "But hes at the mercy of many of the other teams. He cant really rely on anybody. "Theres no one there to help him out and keep him in position. And thats something weve been able to do together in the past." The time trial is more straightforward. Everyone is on their own, riding against the clock. Hesjedal is a good time trialist but he will be up against a field that includes a slew of specialists in the discipline. Hesjedal, whose nickname is "Weight of a Nation," is no stranger to shouldering Canadian cycling hopes. "Its a little more true for the Olympics, for sure when its just you out there representing the country in the race," he said of his nickname. "But I dont feel it in a negative way, thats for sure. "Im honoured to get that spot and go out there. I think Im capable of representing Canada well, Ill thrive on everyones support." In recent months, that groundswell has grown and grown. "Its incredible," he said. "I already felt that support before the Giro. But since doing what we did in Italy, its pretty overwhelming the following and the support that I get. "I was definitely upset to have to leave the Tour knowing people were behind me and wanting to see me do well. That was tough but I think its something that has to happen sometimes. . . . Its a tough sport and it doesnt always go according to plan. Thats the way life is, also."   cheap jerseys from china ." Considering the way Walker tormented Miami on Friday night, Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen would be hard-pressed to disagree. cheap jerseys . Rick Nash scored the tying goal with 58 seconds left in the third period then scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday.Just six weeks to go till pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. Most, but definitely not all of the big trades have been made and free agents signed. Still there are some fairly impressive free agents available, including right hander Kyle Lohse, lefty Joe Saunders and righty Roy Oswalt -- if he decides to play -- and Shaun Marcum. There are some closers of note as well including Rafael Soriano, Jose Valverde and Brian Wilson as well as outfielder Michael Bourn. Alex Anthopoulos actually pulled off a trade on New Years day a year ago, re-acquiring reliever Jason Frasor (currently a free agent) from the White Sox for a couple of pitching prospects, Daniel Webb and Myles Jaye. The Jays also signed lefty reliever Darren Oliver January 9th and Omar Vizquel on January 24th. Two of the biggest and in some ways most controversial free agent signings also happened last January. Texas won the posting bid on Japanese star pitcher Yu Darvish and signed him on the 18th. Ironically, the same day, Colorado signed the "Grand old Man," Jamie Moyer who actually signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays later in the summer before being cut loose. The busiest day in January was the 26th. Boston signing outfielder Cody Ross, The As coming to terms with veteran outfielder DH Johnny Gomes, the Yankees landing right hander Hiroki Kuroda and last but certainly not least, Detroit signing up Prince Fielder to a nine year mammoth $214 million dollar deal. At the time much was made of Fielders body type, 5-foot-11 and 275 pounds and whether he had any hope of making it through to the end of the contract as major contributor with the Tigers. Well the Tigers certainly arent complaining through year one. Prince slugged 30 homers, drove in 108 runs and hit .313. He provided the Tigers with a devastating one-two punch with Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, and helped lead Detroit to the World Series where they ultimately lost to the Giants. Out of curiosity, I took a look at his dad, Cecil Fielder "Big Daddy" and how his number diminished as he moved into his 30s. Cecils last really big year was 1996, at age 32, which he split beetween Detroit and the Yankees. wholesale nfl jerseys. He hit 39 homers, knocked in 117 runs and batted .252. Cecil played his final game, at Cleveland as member of the Indians on September 13th of 1998. He went 1 for 2 off lefty Jim Parque of the White Sox. His final hit a single up the middle, before David Justice pinch hit for him next time through the order. The following spring Fielder went to camp with the Blue Jays for a second go round with the club he cut his teeth with in mid-80s. Cecil had a good spring in 99, but new skipper Jim Fregosi opted to cut him and go with the more versatile David Hollins, who had played for him in his days managing the Phillies. So Cecils career was done at 35. Prince will be 29 on May 9th. Barring injury or a catastrophic drop-off, should far surpass those of his fathers, just as Barry Bonds dwarfed those of his father Bobby. Prince has already hit 260 homeruns and has a career batting average of .287. Cecil hit 319 homeruns for his career and batted .255. Tigers owner Mike Ilitch approved the signing of Prince Fielder for one reason: He wanted to win the World Series. They came close in 2012, and are still arguably one of the top two or three teams in the American League. Some would say the best. Detroit has added outfielder Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez is returning from knee surgery to add another impressive bat and they resigned Anibal Sanchez to complete a standout rotation. The Tigers still may need an upgrade at shortstop and it remains to be seen if youngster Bruce Rondon is actually going to be their closer. Prince Fielders contract runs for eight more years till he hits 36. I believe he is a better player than his father and has the additional motivation of playing for a top notch contender. Its possible he may fade over the final two or three years of his contract and have to become a full time designated hitter, but the Tigers winning one, maybe two World Series is definitely within the realm of possibility. For that reason, the Prince Fielder signing was worth it. A long-time member of the baseball beat, Scott Ferguson covers the Blue Jays for TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto. His baseball blog appears on TSN.ca during the season. cheap jerseys ' ' '