Nearly two weeks on from the Faun-Ardèche Classic, Lars van den Berg is still being monitored by doctors and undergoing tests after he suffered a bizarre incident during the race that caused him to crash with just over 100km to go.
The 25-year-old says that he began to feel unwell before losing consciousness and falling from his bike, as he said on the Cycling Inside podcast that “suddenly I felt very light-headed and I could no longer move my legs”.
He then went on to say that “it really went black before my eyes. Just before I fell, I panicked and thought ‘this is really going wrong’. You don’t realise something like that happens to you and then it happened so quickly. Before you know it, you wake up and there are ten people above you watching. That was quite a shock”.
Van den Berg was lucky to get away with minor injuries, as he said “I came away with a few scrapes, but that was the only thing”. However, the nature of his fall is concerning for the Dutchman’s future, in terms of not only his career, but also his general health and wellbeing.
The Groupama-FDJ rider hopes to return to peloton soon, but is understandably prioritising his health at this time, as he said “I am constantly monitored by the cardiologists. I have undergone several tests and hope to hear more soon. I am positive that I will return, but health comes first now. You want to be 110% fit again before you participate in top sports again”.
Après sa chute d’hier, nous sommes rassurés de savoir que Lars va bien ce matin. Toute l’equipe lui souhaite un bon rétablissement. After his crash yesterday, we are relieved to hear that Lars is doing well this morning. The whole team wishes him a good recovery.
Luckily I was free to go late in the evening. The medical experts of the team will now take charge of the following steps. What remains is a very scary experience, for me, my teammates and loved ones. 2/3
