Tour De France: Lawson Craddock riding through pain to help raise money for Houston
By Elliot Howey
Lawson Craddock is fighting through the pain barrier in this year’s Tour de France, in an effort to raise money for his hometown velodrome.
Lawson Craddock managed to stay in the race on stage one, after a horror crash which left him with a bruised and bloodied faced and a broken scapula. The Texan is now planning on donating $100 to Alkek Velodrome for every stage he completes.
The EF Education Drapac rider is hoping he can use the motivation of raising money for a cause close to his heart to continue riding through the pain. He wrote on his gofundme page:” As extra motivation, I have decided to give $100 to the Greater Houston Cycling Foundation for each stage that I finish.”
He added: “I have truly been blown away by how many people have offered to donate as well. It has been overwhelming and extremely motivating to continue this race.”
Craddock’s fundraising efforts will go toward repairing the damage left by Hurricane Harvey. The Alkek Velodrome is where he got his start in cycling.
Craddock was badly injured in stage one of this year’s Tour. After the American was catapulted off his bike after hitting a drinks bottle on the road. The rider describes the collision as like being hit by a hand grenade.
Hats off to @lawsoncraddock, using a negative to make a positive. He will donate $100 to Alkek velodrome for every stage he finishes, and he's encouraging you to join in. Good luck Lawson!#tdf #tdf2018 #cycling pic.twitter.com/Z81OYga0YX
— GlobalCyclingNetwork (@gcntweet) July 8, 2018
He required a few stitches and is still in the race, but he’ll have to ride the remaining 19 stages with a broken scapula, including the daunting mountain stages later in the Tour.
Craddock tweeted his fundraising efforts after the race his plan to raise money. Among those donating money to his cause is John Legere, the president of T-Mobile who pledged to give $200 for every stage Lawson completes.
A broken scapula and a few stitches is not how I wanted to start @LeTour, but this Texan will fight as much as I can to continue. I will donate $100 to the @AlkekVelodrome for Harvey relief for every stage that I can finish. Anyone care to match? @JJWatt @HoustonTexans pic.twitter.com/Hmd1qVNqHT
— Lawson Craddock (@lawsoncraddock) July 7, 2018
Craddock has set a target of $2,100 on his page. At the time of publishing, Craddock has already raised $6,900 which is a really nice amount that should drive Craddock on as he prepares for stage three of the Tour de France on Monday.