Unfortunate Race Yesterday

Yesterday I raced the Club Championships for the cycling club. I felt that I was in the best condition and my legs were feeling great. The race was approximately 80km and I knew that racing in B grade I had a shot at the win. The first lap (40km) into the race was feeling good and I was working well with three other guys. There was a field of about 15 riders and none of them wanted to do any work which was frustrating. One guy said, "On the second lap Cahn, start racing and we'll split this field apart." I tried desperately to attack off the front and form a break away but it just wasn't happening. I was told by the same guy to have another crack on the first rise, but again we could not form a break.

We were about 5km from the turn when things got messy and I was sitting about 3rd or 4th from the front. I heard some swearing and then one guy went down and his bike was right there in front of me and I had nowhere else to go but hit it. I slammed my brakes but possibly my front brake too much and by the time I hit his bike I was already flying over my handle bars. I hit the ground and remember my hip being in a lot of pain. I got up but had to quickly sit down again. One of the other riders helped me over to some shade where I began going into shock and vomiting. The race was automatically called off.

Bikes were everywhere and about four riders had gone down. One decided that because of the pain I was in and how much shock I was in that it was best if an ambulance was called. So I was taken back to the hospital where I spent the next four hours. Nothing was broken luckily but I did end up with gravel rash on my back and an abrasion on my right hip.

Due to this crash, it has ruled me out of the regional triathlon championships next week which is a huge disappointment for me. Hopefully I can still get selected to race the state championships next year by reviewing recent results. It was a very unfortunate day for me and the other riders who hit the deck. I am hoping for a speedy recovery and I cannot wait to get back on the bike.

The gravel rash I obtained on my back and my hip all covered up