The first winner of the Tour de France Féminin, Marianne Martin, suffered a collapsed lung, concussion, fractured clavicle and collarbone, and 12 broken ribs in a serious crash earlier this month.
The 66-year-old crashed as she descended Sunshine Canyon, just outside of Boulder, Colorado, in the US on 6 October, and was in Boulder Community Hospital for over a week after that, including several days in the intensive care unit.
She is now seeking to raise $20,000 via GoFundMe to cover expenses and living costs while she recovers from the serious accident.
Martin won the Tour de France Féminin, a forerunner to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, in 1984, the first edition of the event, and was the only American to do so for the 10 years it existed.
Asked in 2023 what she missed most about her cycling career, she said: "I do love adrenaline. I'm a complete adrenaline junkie and I'm a real fitness junkie, too. At that time in my life, I got my fix of adrenaline every week and I traveled with the best people, the best friends, all around the country for the U.S. circuit. I loved my life. It was very exciting and very emotional. There were definite ups and downs, but it was intense. I love intensity. It was everything I could ask for," she said.
"It was hard to transition away from it, but now cycling to me is a social way of fitness."
Her friend, Lindasue Smollen, is organising the fundraiser.
"If you know Marianne (and you do), you know she prides herself on her resourcefulness and independence," she wrote on GoFundMe. "She has been reluctant to accept support (other than kind words and visits) from her friends, but has come to the realization that it could be quite a while before she can return to working or deal with life’s many obligations.
"This is a chance for 'many hands making light work' to relieve the stress the her recovery downtime puts on her. She has received a tremendous amount of moral support from the cycling community, and it means a lot to her. Marianne wanted to make clear that she has Medicare and most her hospital bills will be covered though there will plenty out of pocket expenses as well. This fund is to support her ongoing living costs while her income is cut off and let her focus on healing.
"The long road to full recovery has just started for her, with your contribution[s] she’ll have an easier time dealing with the many issues she faces," Smollen wrote. "And I’m sure we’re all looking forward to Marianne being back on the bike and kicking ass!"
In an update last weekend Smollen wrote: "She is in a fair amount of pain and grimaces at almost the slightest move. The road rash on her face is healing quite well. She's very very tired, but that's to be expected. Overall, after a week, I think she's doing great. She does love hearing from everyone, even if she can't always respond in the expression of love from the GoFundMe is not lost on her so thank you everyone."
You can donate via gofundme.com.
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