Cav’s Return!

I am so impressed with him coming back from the Epstein-Bahr sickness. When he got that I thought he was done for as an athlete. I got that in the fall of 1980, the ’kissing disease’ or mono-nucleosis. I lost 25 lbs of hard earned muscle, I was weak, tired all the time, sleepy. Training was horrible, after I was diagnosed I had to stop for some three months, then come back 2 days a week, then three, then 4… I often fell back to two. When competition started I was running on what I had left from the year before and desire. Everything I had worked for and gained, strength, power, speed, over the last 4 years was gone. I still came 3rd in the 200 at the Nationals, but between the fatigue, lack of support in those days, and disgust with the National Sprint coach, and team, doing his best to get rid of me so I couldn’t rat out his doping scheme with his other sprinters, I gave up and retired in the fall of ‘81. It took me at least 5 more years to come back to normal, healing up on my own.

So, when I saw Cav last year crying that he felt his career was over. I understood exactly how he felt. It brought back a ton of not so great memories and I felt so sorry for him. But then Quick-Step picked him up, he started winning again, then not picked for the Tour, then last minute put in. And he goes on to tie Eddie Merckx’s record of Tour de France wins. Fantastic! I admire him very much.