31/01/2023

"I am destroyed" - Arkéa Samsic fear Trofeo Palma crash may have been the final straw for Nacer Bouhanni's career

The return to competition of Nacer Bouhanni after a dangerous crash at last season's Tour of Turkey didn't go for the best. The French sprinter of Arkéa-Samsic team couldn't handle the climbs prior to the sprint in Trofeo Alcudia and at Trofeo Palma when everything pointed towards a return of Nacer Bouhanni in mass sprint finishes, the 32 years old climber crashed in the last kilometers and was unable to dispute the sprint win.

"I am destroyed, I was on the wheel of my companions, we were going 70 kph. Behind me two riders touched and one ended up hitting my rear wheel. I found myself on the ground in the middle of the road", Bouhanni told L'Equipe.

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Due to this crash, Bouhanni sustained a head injury, a hematoma to the ribs and numerous abrasions. But his main injury can be the impact this crash might affect Nacer Bouhanni confidence since at the first sprint since he crashed since Turkey, the sprinter crashed again.

"He crashed in the second race after his comeback and is definitely feeling dejected and prostrate. I'm afraid he might start asking himself 'why always me?'. Clearly it's all bad luck, but the damage is done. In addition to the physical trauma, there is also the psychological one”, said Arkea sports director Emmanuel Hubert.

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Psychological trauma can pay a big effect in high level sports and Bouhanni according to his team manager wasn't very fond of cycling since the crash that lead him with broken vertebrae on the neck. Now with another one, things are a bit uncertain about the future of the French sprinter.

"Nacer already said a few months ago that he didn't want to know about cycling anymore. Now we have to re-motivate him. We know that the job of a sprinter is not the easiest, so for now we think it's best for him to make a gradual return to training. Then, we'll also need a bit of luck: hopefully this will manifest itself later, perhaps when Bouhanni is at the start of the Tour de France 2023…', revealed the Arkea sports director.