Lennard Kämna returns to racing year after his training accident: "I have a bigger eye on cars now for sure"
Cycling
Nearly a year after his life-threatening training accident at Tenerife, Lennard Kämna finally made a return to competition at the Volta a Catalunya. No, he didn't compete for top results, but it was an important step in his recovery and a sign that Lidl-Trek can count on the 28-year-old from now on again.
"For the first one or two weeks, the noise of a lot of cars made me uncomfortable," he said on The Cycling Podcast. "The first time I went out it felt super natural, I was just a bit more cautious that’s for sure and I’d say now I feel completely normal in traffic again."
The German rider is now far more aware of his surroundings: "For sure I have a bigger eye on cars now that are coming from the front or coming out of somewhere. I always have a feeling that I’m looking a lot more now right and left at what they’re doing, have they seen me, have they not seen me."
"In the end it was a super lucky outcome that I’m able to sit here and that I’m able to do pro sport again, it’s just incredible," he added. Of the accident itself, Kämna remembers little to nothing. Everything happened in a blink of an eye.
"I didn’t know why I was in the hospital," he said. "All of a sudden I was there and it took me a really long time to understand what had happened and really realise that it was not a dream or whatever, it was reality. I think I broke 11 or 12 bones in the end. I broke seven or eight ribs, my shoulder blade, my scapula, one bone in my face...," he lists.
"I don’t have any memories [of the crash] at all," he explained. "I was descending and then a car came up and just overlooked me and went into a parking spot or a road, I actually don’t know and I also don’t know where exactly it happened. The car then went in front of me and I hit it.
"I always say how long does it take for a car to cross a road, maybe one or two seconds, so this is also the time I had to do something or not. It’s basically no time at all. When I think about it there was not a lot I could have done, I was just unlucky."
Kämna is set to continue his comeback at the Tour of the Alps in April, a race where he previously won two stages in 2022 and 2023.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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