MY RIDE FROM HELL
Cycling legend wants to solve the mystery of what caused the worst crash of his life
RECOVERING at home with a surgical plate screwed into his collarbone, cycling great Phil Anderson has opened up about the “worst crash” he’s ever had and his plans to solve the mystery of what caused it. “If you can imagine it’s kind of like seeing one frame in a thousand as if you were looking through a video,” he told the Addy. “There’s bits here and there but it’s hard to piece together.”
RECOVERING at home with a surgical plate screwed into to his collarbone, cycling great Phil Anderson has described the “worst crash” he’s ever had.
The retired professional cyclist was discharged from hospital on Monday after being badly hurt when he came off his bike during a trip to the Cape Otway lighthouse last Friday.
Back at work from his Grey River home, with the help of some painkillers, Anderson told the Geelong Advertiser his stack could have been caused by wildlife, potholes or even a car.
“I lost consciousness, hit my head. Obviously I can’t remember the exact details of how it unfolded,” he said.
“If you can imagine it’s kind of like seeing one frame in a thousand as if you were looking through a video. There’s bits here and there but it’s hard to piece together.
“I did have a little GPS device with me so I’m going to go back to the site and see if that helps, and speak to the people who picked me up.”
Passers-by found him injured on Lighthouse Rd and took him to Apollo Bay Hospital. From there he was flown to The Alfred hospital with a broken collarbone, eight cracked ribs and concussion.
He underwent a procedure to have a plate inserted into his collarbone to “screw it together”, and while he’s already back at work he will be undergoing rehabilitation.
“It was more of a shock, I had a concussion so pain wasn’t too bad,” he said.
“When you have trauma like that your mind forgets the pain.”
He said he had avoided any major crashes throughout much of his ca- reer, and wouldn’t let this one put him off getting back on the bike.
“It’s unfortunate, but you can’t let things like this deter you. But it’s the worst crash I’ve ever had actually, through all those years of racing and now retirement,” he said. “Never say never.” Anderson said his partner, Anne Newell, was relieved he was OK and he thanked the people who helped him and staff at both hospitals.
Yesterday he was back at work managing his cycling tour business.
“It’s one of those things, I’ve been quite a few years retired. When you’re racing you go through these things quite often but the older you get the harder you fall it seems,” he said.
“I’ll have a little bit of rehab on my shoulder. Shoulders are the most common injury for a cyclist, common trauma for cycling, and I’ve dodged that bullet my whole career. Now when I get to nearly 60 this happens.”