Kiwi cyclist Dion Smith is hoping a day's rest will work wonders, after getting caught up in the chaos on Stage Nine of the Tour de France.
The Wanty-Groupe Gobert rider was "feeling pretty good" in the incident-packed stage, before hitting the deck hard in a crash with more than 30 kilometres remaining.
"I think everyone just locked up. Mikel Landa came down and I was just behind it.
"I grabbed a handful of the brakes and went into the back of him, and went over the handlebars really."
His hopes of finishing the Tour are now on shaky ground.
"I think I'll make the start-line for the next stage. I'll go for a ride tomorrow and see how it is.
"I've got a recovery day and I'm confident I can start the next stage, but we'll see how it goes."
The 25-year old's fall left him with a fractured thumb, stitches in his left hand, bruises on his back and sore ribs, which he thinks he almost broke.
Yet he's typically Kiwi in his assessment of his body - musing that it "could have been worse".
Another New Zealander, Paddy Bevin, lost his leader when Australian Richie Porte broke his collarbone, exiting the Tour for the second year in a row via a crash.
Smith soldiered on to finish Monday's (NZ time) stage, admitting his thumb was "pretty sore" over the last cobble sections.
The Tour breaks for a rest day overnight, before ramping up into the mountains.
"It's packed full of Alps in the second week and the next three days are pretty gnarly - so I'll try to look after myself."
Smith's hoping to get into the grupetto - the group of riders that form behind the peloton. He'll find solace in that group and it'll provide him the opportunity to save as much energy as possible.
He won't be the only one putting on a brave face. American Lawson Craddock - Kiwi Tom Scully's teammate - continues to ride the Tour with a broken shoulder bone, which he damaged on the opening stage.
Craddock's donating $100 for every stage he finishes to the Alkek Velodrome - the place his career started - that was damaged in Hurricane Harvey. The 26-year old's now doubled his donation, after the gruelling blast over the cobblestones.
Smith remains tied for second in the King of the Mountains classification as the best climber in the race - but with the daunting mountains to follow and his banged up body, the chances of regaining the polka dot jersey are very slim.
Newshub.
