It was an ordinary training ride. Bernie Eisel and I were chatting away. I was so happy to be on the bike because it had been such a tough start to the season. Two viral infections made it the most demanding start to my season ever. I had two surgeries already. I had no idea it was about to become four surgeries within six months.
It was only my second training ride back. Bernie and I were enjoying the sun, the tailwind and good conversation. Suddenly, as we were approaching a junction there was a car at a give way sign. I had the right of way but as we approached, the car decided to drive. I went straight into the driver’s door at a 90-degree angle.
Bernie was on the left side and just managed to pass the car, but it was a close call for him as well. The impact was big. Right away I knew this was serious. Bernie came up to me and saw I had an open fracture – the leg was open. It got messy as the blood was flowing out. Because of the shock the pain wasn’t too bad but once it wore off, it became painful.
Fast forward to some great work by the ambulance and the doctors, I was in hospital, scheduled for surgery. Recovery meant lying flat on my back for one week. I tried walking on crutches after that but it was pretty painful as blood rushed to the knee. After two and a half weeks the plan was to start therapy but thankfully the doctor in Austria was careful enough to do a CT scan of my knee and we discovered that the kneecap wasn’t rebuilt properly in the first surgery. That meant going under the knife for a second time.
When the diagnosis from the CT came back I started thinking what if this is the end of my career? I thought, if this is it, no big deal! I’ve done Flanders, Roubaix, San Remo, all the big classics. 3 times Tour de France. If it’s meant to be over now, then so be it.
Following the second surgery, I spent another 8 or 9 days in hospital. I got an infection which meant antibiotic treatment for a month. It was now almost a full month from the time of the accident to when I could move again and start my rehab.
Mentally, it was a rollercoaster. I had good days where I thought, “it’s just a knee, doctors can fix this pretty easily. I’ve seen Gilbert and Valverde overcome these problems.” Then I understood that my injury was a bit worse, two surgeries plus the infection started taking its toll on my mind.
The doctors couldn’t give me a clear indication if the infection was under control so my mind started wondering again. Worst case scenario, I lose the leg. My mind went to those dark places. Things got pretty weird. When I look back now, I realise how close to depression I was.
There were also good experiences during this time. The first time I walked with crutches after two months was such a joyful moment for me. That was a celebration. It made me realise how thankful I need to be for having good health.
Now for the positive news. Of course you might have seen that, I won the first day of the Bay criterium races in Australia. It was my first race of 2019. A lot of people wanted to know how I felt about winning my first race back on the bike.It’s a special moment but the truth is, I want to keep my feet on the ground. I’m happy I won it but I have to keep working to get to the next milestone. This is just the start and a reward for the hard work in rehab. Walking again and working on flexibility during rehab was the hardest part of the process. Being on the bike is easy. It’s something that comes naturally to me.
Now I’m living the dream again. This experience put everything into perspective. Having your health is the biggest thing you can have in life. We’re so privileged to be professional bike riders and doing our passion as a job.
Header Photo © TKA / Kathrin Schafbauer
Tags: katusha alpecin, tour de france Last modified: Jan 20, 2020
