We've got a cyclist taking part in the Race Across America and he has come off the road
and collapsed. He is conscious and breathing but unresponsive.
White line! White line!
Hey!
Take it easy if things aren't going well. I wouldn't push yourself.
Just after a few seconds of the solution he opened his eyes and spoke very good.
Hello Max. I just heard that you are half way through your challenge and you are doing
really, really well. I send you many regards from Russia, from the World Cup. I heard that
you are also a little bit struggling but just remember that if you want to achieve big things
in life, if you want to come forward, if you want to come out of your comfort zone you
always have to struggle. It is quite normal, it belongs to it and it will just make you
stronger and I'm really, really sure about that. Just imagine your family and good friends
and also us...
Thank you, Ilkay.
I'm going to ring race HQ now and see what the situation is. She is probably sick of us by now.
Hi Kim, it's Mike. So Max is in the hospital, he is on a drip and they've ran a load of
tests on him. He is probably the best he's looked since we left Ocean Side.
He wants to carry on and finish the route.
He basically told me that it's his dream and he has to finish it for himself and for the
crew and for the kids that he's raising money for. He's pretty stubborn about these type of things.
The most frustrating thing is that his legs look fine, he has been absolutely strong this morning, so...
I've told him that the only way he's getting back on the bike is if the doctors here sign
it off and approve that he can get back on a bike.
I think once this fluid runs in, if you want to go then we can let you go. Ok?
You're there to protect your players so we're kind of here to protect you from yourself
too. So take it easy if things aren't going well, I wouldn't push yourself.
I'll remind you of that...
We were talking right now...
Hold him back from himself, right? Athletes as you know, sometimes they want to finish
the race even when it's dangerous for them doing things like that. So I want you to do
what is safe. If this happens again then we need to call it quits, ok?
See you in a few hours on the road with the bike... Ready?
Lets go.
Bossing it, Doc!
Ciao Mama!
This is not a holiday, we knew before that this was not a holiday. Plus if you have a
problem...
It becomes a lot less of a holiday if you get hit by a truck so we have got to get the
balance right.
I told you that if I am suffering, stop it. When I was climbing here I started to feel dizzy.
It's dangerous.
I didn't want to get into any risks. That's why... That's why I stopped.
I can't let you do that. It's not safe.
I'm so sorry. I'm sorry.
Stop saying sorry.
We have made a decision that it's not safe for Max to continue, to go back on the bike.
We are 100% sure that that's the right decision for Max's health and for Max's wellbeing which
is our number one priority. In true Max fashion he is more concerned about other people at
this time despite the fact that he is going through a massive personal, emotional experience
of not completing the challenge that he set his heart on. To be honest it kind of puts
everything into perspective because at the end of the day it's just a race and whether
he does 8 days of cycling or 12 days of cycling, the message is still the same. He did this
to raise awareness of opportunities for disabled children and adults to play football and to
play sport. For someone who has such a high profile job at the Club and looks after all
of our first team players, for him to take time to train and to commit himself to this
over the last three years that he has been training, when they fly all over the world
playing fixtures and he spends 24 hours on call to look after our players, for someone
of his profile and his nature of work to do that I think is unbelievably selfless and
hugely commendable.
My crew and race director decide to stop me here. So my race finish here after 2000 miles instead of 3000 miles.
I'm devastated. I'm so sorry for everyone that supported me from the beginning. I really
apologise to the sponsor, to the crew, to the Club, to the fans, to the City in the
Community, to everyone who has supported me during these three years.
This is life. Unfortunately I need to accept the referees decision even if it's not
a great decision for me.
It is what it is.