Garmin-Sharp team leader Andrew Talansky, 25, of Miami, came into the Tour de France widely regarded as a contender for a top-three finish. That wasn't to be, as Talansky crashed heavily twice in the first 10 days of the race and found himself laboring in excruciating pain during Stage 11 from Besancon to Oyonnax in the Jura mountains of eastern France. Talansky stopped by the side of the road with just over 30 miles to go in the 117-mile stage, in obvious physical and emotional distress, and looked as if he were ready to abandon. After conferring with team director Robbie Hunter, he elected to continue and finish the stage alone to honor his teammates and end the race on his own terms.

Talansky, who withdrew from the Tour before the start the next morning, spoke with ESPN.com senior writer Bonnie D. Ford via Skype from his training base of Girona, Spain, about his dramatic day in the saddle.

Ford: What did you feel like at the start of Stage 11?

Talansky: I was optimistic at the start of that day. We were optimistic we could get me through that stage and go for the stage win that day with the team, in the hopes that I would end up feeling better later in the race and maybe be able to go for a stage win myself.

Ford: When did things start going south?

Talansky: I knew I was in for a rough ride from the very start, from kilometer zero, when the flag dropped and the attacks started, I was instantly uncomfortable. I knew it would be a struggle. But then throughout the day, how I was feeling just got worse and worse. About 100 kilometers in, when the road started to go gradually uphill, things started to go south pretty quickly.

Ford: Was it full body pain? What was troubling you the most?

Talansky: The most problematic thing was my SI joints running into my lower back from the crash. It's like an ankle, if you twist your ankle and keep running on it, it's not going to get better. The best way to describe it is, it keeps me from going hard. It's like you're stuck in first gear, just completely takes away my ability to pedal. It's like you have a limiter on, a governor on. It was a strange feeling.

While you're in the Tour you're just thinking day-to-day, how can I get through the race tomorrow. Even with that first crash, that was exactly how my mind worked. I didn't want other people to worry about me, I didn't want my teammates to worry. Honestly, in the moment, you're convincing yourself there's no reason to worry. I wanted to believe I could brush that off and keep going. It was a much harder impact than I let myself understand at the time. Obviously we came to see the full consequences of it.

Ford: Take me through your decision to stop, your conversation with Robbie, the thought behind getting back on.

Talansky: I was trying to stay calm, but there was a little bit of panic. Guys were stopping for nature breaks uphill on the side of the road and I was going backwards through the cars because I couldn't get my body to do what I wanted it to do.