PARK CITY — Bad luck continues to haunt David Zabriskie even after his unfortunate crash in the Tour de France, but he remains in high spirits as he trains at the Canyons Resort.
While at a restaurant in Denmark, Zabriskie put his right hand up to stop a door from closing, but the window on the door shattered when he touched it and severed a nerve and a tendon.
He said the window probably already had a crack in it, which was why it shattered so easily.
"It was bad luck," he said. "Hopefully, I'll still be able to compete at the (world championships). We'll have to wait and see how my wrist heals up."
The World Championships will be in Madrid, Spain, later this year.
Zabriskie's fiancee, Randi Reich, said she shares his frustration.
"We were looking forward to the trails and the terrain up here," she said. "And then this happened."
Zabriskie has certainly had his share of unfortunate events over the past few years. In 2003, he was hit by an SUV in Mill Creek Canyon while riding, an accident that took him more than a year to fully recover from.
Then, after leading the Tour de France after three days this year, a mechanical problem on his bike on the fourth day caused him to crash less than two kilometers before the finish line. He eventually had to withdraw from the race.
"It seems like when it happens to me, it happens hard," Zabriskie said. "That car accident wasn't my fault. And then the one at the Tour was the first crash of the season."
Zabriskie said it was difficult to leave the Tour, but he really had no choice.
"It wasn't a decision," he said. "It was necessary. It gets to a point where you just can't do it anymore."
He said the Tour was still a great experience.
"For me it was good to start off with a bang," he said. "Those first few days were really happy."
Zabriskie took the yellow jersey by winning the time trial on the first day.
He said even though he is one of the best time trialists in the world, it was still a shock to wear the yellow jersey.
"It was a pretty big surprise," he said. "Every rider is always hoping he can wear it. But when it hits, it hits fast. You've got to learn to handle it."
He said leading the Tour for a few days was one of the best times of his life.
"It was a big accomplishment," he said. "There's a lot of history with that race. A lot of people dream about winning it."
After Zabriskie's crash, Lance Armstrong took the overall lead, but did not want to wear the yellow jersey the next day out of respect to Zabriskie. Armstrong was told by race officials that he had to wear it.
"It was a nice gesture of Lance," Zabriskie said. "I think he has a lot of respect for the jersey. It was a nice thing for him to try to do."
Zabriskie wasn't dwelling on "what-ifs," but he said he thinks he might have stayed in the spotlight for a little while longer if the crash hadn't happened.
"I maybe would have kept the jersey for a couple more days," he said. "But then my job would have been to help Ivan Basso. That was the goal of the team to get him on the podium.
Basso finished second overall, four minutes and 40 seconds behind Armstrong.
Zabriskie said he is also trying to train for the San Francisco Grand Prix at the end of the summer, but he cannot ride his bike due to his wrist injury. He said he is limited to hiking and his stationary bike.
E-mail: bhinton@desnews.com