{"id":54979,"date":"2023-10-09T15:00:23","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=749306"},"modified":"2023-10-09T15:35:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T13:35:32","slug":"how-to-recover-mentally-from-a-cycling-crash","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/how-to-recover-mentally-from-a-cycling-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"How to recover mentally from a cycling crash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advice from elite riders who have bounced from traumatic cycling incidents <\/p>

By Jack Evans\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 09 October 2023 at 13:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Recovering physically is just one step to bouncing back from a cycling crash.<\/p>\n

Even after road rash<\/a> has healed, broken bones have fixed and concussion <\/a>symptoms have eased, the mental scars may linger.<\/p>\n

But if you accept what\u2019s happened and overcome mental health issues (possibly with help from a therapist),\u00a0 a cautious return to cycling can be done.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve asked Erik Nohlin, leader of design at Specialized and Globe, elite gravel racers Lauren de Crescenzo and Ian Boswell, and WorldTour professional Michael Valgren how they recovered psychologically from major cycling crashes.<\/p>\n

Acceptance<\/h2>\n
\"Erik\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Nohlin has built a randonneuring Aethos and restarted long-distance cycling.<\/span><\/figcaption> Erik Nohlin<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Erik Nohlin<\/a> was descending a hill in San Francisco, California, when a driver pulled out of a car park into his path.<\/p>\n

Nohlin smashed into the side of the car, continued over the bonnet and hit the tarmac at an estimated speed of 35km\/h.<\/p>\n

The custom-built Specialized Aethos he was riding was destroyed, but he didn\u2019t break any bones.<\/p>\n

He realised days later he was concussed from hitting his head against the side of the car.<\/p>\n

It was October 2020 with emergency departments full of Covid-19 patients, so Nohlin decided not to go to the hospital.<\/p>\n

He regrets this decision for several reasons, including the fact it delayed his acceptance of the severity of the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never embraced how f****d up I was because I\u2019m an ultra-distance cyclist,\u201d says Nohlin.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how to suffer and brush things off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also know how important cycling is to me. So I decided it\u2019s hurting everywhere and I\u2019m bruised and f******d but I\u2019m going to get back on the bike and I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his initial reluctance to seek treatment, Nohlin was medically diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2021.<\/p>\n

Get back to normal<\/h2>\n
\"Lauren\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
After her crash, De Crescenzo has become one of the world\u2019s best gravel racers.<\/span><\/figcaption> Cinch Cycling<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Before regaining the mental ability and will to ride your bike again, you need to return to normal life. For some riders, this in itself can be a long process.<\/p>\n

Lauren de Crescenzo<\/a> won the women\u2019s Unbound 200 in 2021. Before that, she took two years to recover from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) sustained when she crashed in a professional road race in 2016.<\/p>\n

When she was leading out a teammate for a sprint, her handlebar got tangled in metal fencing on the side of the road. She flipped forward onto her head.<\/p>\n

Due to post-traumatic amnesia, she has no recollection of the crash or of the three weeks she spent in intensive care afterwards.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think not being able to remember those first three weeks really helped me because I feel like it\u2019s your body\u2019s way of protecting itself,\u201d says De Crescenzo.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brain took about two years to get back to a new state of normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only then did she successfully attempt a full return to road cycling.<\/p>\n

Talk about it<\/h2>\n
\"Specialized\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Nohlin felt his inability to ride negatively impacted his personal and professional life.<\/span><\/figcaption> Globe<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

All four riders we spoke to say therapy helped them recover from the mental consequences of their crashes.<\/p>\n

For De Crescenzo and Nohlin, the worst consequence of their TBI was depression.<\/p>\n

Therapy sessions taught Nohlin he had been through a \u201cnear-death experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

He would \u201cfreeze up\u201d while cycling and eventually avoided bikes altogether. His therapist told him this was because he had realised the damage riding a bike could do to him.<\/p>\n

For a bike designer and accomplished long-distance cyclist, this resulted in a \u201ccomplete loss of identity\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eight months on from the crash, following several failed attempts to restart cycling, Nohlin was referred to a psychotherapist.<\/p>\n

Using a therapy technique called \u2018habit control\u2019, Nohlin gradually began riding again.<\/p>\n

Ian Boswell, who won the men\u2019s Unbound 200 in 2021, also says therapy helped him deal with the uncertainty surrounding his return to the bike.<\/p>\n

Having been forced to retire from the WorldTour at the age of 28, therapy enabled him to feel satisfied with what he\u2019d achieved to date.<\/p>\n

\"LA-PLAINE-TONIQUE,\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Valgren pulled through tough spells on his journey back to the WorldTour.<\/span><\/figcaption> Luc Claessen\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Valgren, meanwhile, says he tends to be a \u201cclosed book\u201d and his wife, who is a psychologist, helped him open up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Without the support of his team, sports psychologist and family, the EF Education-EasyPost pro says: \u201cI could have fallen into a black hole, I could have got depressed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

De Crescenzo used a combination of occupational and speech therapy at a rehabilitation centre and physiotherapy at a hospital.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She says studying to qualify as an epidemiologist provided a welcome distraction from her inability to race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But speaking to other cyclists helped with the final step of recovery, according to De Crescenzo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTalking to other cyclists is how I got back on the bike.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>For me at least, that might even have been more valuable than talking to a therapist,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

De Crescenzo says restarting road cycling with a former professional, Timmy Duggan, who recovered from a TBI helped her regain confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m very open to talking about my experience to other cyclists who go through the same thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cLots of people reach out to me for inspiration. I say that on the other side, it does get better,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Consider medication<\/h2>\n
\"Prozac.\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Some doctors may prescribe anti-depressants to help with the mental lows.<\/span><\/figcaption> BSIP\/UIG Via Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

A TBI causes a chemical imbalance in the brain, which medication can help restore.<\/p>\n

However, a cyclist who is unable to ride their bike loses their usual means to destress, according to Nohlin.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200b\u200bRiding is our medicine, it\u2019s like our therapy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes us deal and cope with the world we live in because when we get on the bike everything just vanishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Without cycling, Nohlin became depressed.<\/p>\n

Along with psychotherapy, Nohlin gives some credit to psychedelic therapy \u2013 which involves microdosing psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin \u2013 for his mental recovery.<\/p>\n

Although studies have found these drugs reduce symptoms of PTSD, they may be illegal where you live.<\/p>\n

De Crescenzo says taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a type of antidepressant, combated her own depression.<\/p>\n

Take it slow<\/h2>\n
\"ROQUETAS\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Boswell was plagued by crashes in his WorldTour career.<\/span><\/figcaption> Michael Steele\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Boswell retired from professional road cycling in 2019 after sustaining his sixth career concussion in a crash at the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race.<\/p>\n

Not until 2021 did he return to a peloton of sorts in a gravel race<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His largely traffic-free home roads of Vermont soothed his return to cycling outdoors.<\/p>\n

Following the concussion, he had to regain the balance, hearing and spatial awareness required to ride outside.<\/p>\n

His progress was far from linear.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome days I\u2019d wake up feeling horrible and feel I wouldn\u2019t be able to ride anymore,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to be patient with yourself. When recovering from concussion, sometimes it\u2019s two steps forward, three steps back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Four\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
The relative safety of gravel is a good place to restart riding.<\/span><\/figcaption> Nils Nilsen\/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

De Crescenzo says the slower speeds and car-free roads of gravel riding made it feel like a safer way to return to racing in 2018, two years after her crash.<\/p>\n

When Nohlin successfully restarted cycling, he did so on a mountain bike<\/a> off-road, then a large electric cargo bike<\/a> before eventually feeling confident enough to jump on a drop-bar road bike.<\/p>\n

Boswell, De Crescenzo and Nohlin all say that for a long time, they rode solo until they felt comfortable enough to return to group riding<\/a>.<\/p>\n