BOUNCE BACK FROM A CRASH LIKE… TAYLOR PHINNEY
Somelessonsarelearnedthehardway,asPhinneydiscovered followingacrashintheUSANationalRoadRaceChamps
The tenacity of US pro Taylor Phinney and his approach to recovery should encourage every cyclist who’s returning from injury. Let’s recap. In 2014 Phinney, off the back of a strong spring, broke his leg after attempting to avoid a motorcycle. Originally diagnosed as a six-week recovery, it took him over a year to return to racing. Phinney concedes there were dark clouds but, ultimately, he turned a negative into a positive.“I know you hear it all the time but it’s given me fresh perspective,” Phinney reflected later that year. “It made me appreciate not only bike riding but being healthy.”
That appreciation led to a pragmatic return to riding. He extolled the benefits of a turbo trainer for recovering safely and “also used a shorter crank to restrict range of motion” and so place less stress on the recuperating limb. Arguably, Phinney’s now stronger than ever, finishing a career-high eighth at April’s Paris-Roubaix.
“Phinney showed that you can draw positives from injury,” says coach Rob Wakefield. And you can, too, with Wakefield’s advice… 1 EVALUATE HONESTLY While you’re recovering, and as soon after the spill as possible, ask yourself why it happened. Try and think about what caused the crash and what you could have done differently to avoid it. Was it technique, conditions or observation related? Was it another road user’s fault? Answering honestly is the first step to avoiding it happening again. 2 RE-LIVE TO RIDE AGAIN One rider I knew occasionally crashed, usually when performing tight and fast right-hand turns. He realised there was a pattern; when turning right he wasn’t pushing down with his weight on the outside leg properly, and had his weight too far over the inside of the bike, reducing tyre grip. It pays to recount the causes of a crash. 3 GET BACK ON Once you’ve figured out why the crash happened, get back on your bike and start to correct the issue. Any crash negatively affects confidence – it’s a natural psychological response to trauma. Start riding again to help to heal this and build confidence again. Like Phinney, an indoor trainer could be a good start. 4 START SLOWLY But don’t get back on the bike and start hammering it. Your body might still be bruised and in some level of shock. Start by going out for a few nice, easy rides, just cruising and having fun. Build up slowly and, if poor technique was the cause of
the crash, practise better technique slowly, deliberately and often. REDEFINE YOURSELF 5 If your crash involved another road user, ask yourself if you could have made yourself more visible to other road users. As cyclists we’re not always as visible as we think we are. Get into the habit of waving at cars who are about to pull out at a junction, and give them the thumbs up when they let you through a gap or over a roundabout. The more we can interact, the more confidence it’ll give everyone about bikes and vehicles sharing the road.