Pro cycling has an unfortunate association with crashes. High speeds, a big peloton, and very driven athletes taking every chance to win does result in some riders exceeding the limits of grip and space available, resulting in crashes. There, of course, have also been concerns about course design and safety, with riders and rider unions calling out what they deem to be unsafe racing conditions that have led to crashes. It’s not just in the races as well, but out in training, sometimes crashes happen and can have serious ramifications.
But how do riders recover from these, sometimes very serious, crashes? We’ve seen incredible cases of riders winning races just days after fracturing an elbow, completing a Grand Tour with a fractured back, and riders returning from crashes most medical professionals would deem as career-ending, in less than a year.
