"The lungs took a while to stay up and work on their own" - American rider reveals life-threatening injuries suffered at Philadelphia Cycling Classic
Cycling
Ezra Caudell turned 20 years old in a hospital in Philadelphia, United States. The American rider, over a week prior, suffered injuries at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, and has now written about the crash that almost took took his life at age 19.
The cycling world had been mourning Finlay Tarling who had passed away only weeks prior at the Volta a Portugal, when from the USA more tragic news emerged from the Philadelphia Cycling Classic. Ezra Caudell had been involved in a crash, and his life was at risk. Six weeks later, he has updated his fans on social media.
"I usually make a post for every race, finally got around to making this one. Thought it would be good to update everyone a bit on what I’ve been doing," Caudell wrote in an Instagram post.
"First, I want to say huge thanks to my parents, friends, team, and everyone who’s been supporting me and my family so much while I’m dealing with this. While racing the Philadelphia Cycling Classic on August 30th I was in a pretty freak accident".
Ezra Caudell is a rider for Modern Adventure Pro Cycling and was making his pro debut in 2026
Terrifying crash brings Caudell down in Philadelphia
"I don’t remember anything about the actual crash personally, because I hit my head real good and don’t have much memory of that day entirely. The first memory I have is from a couple weeks after the crash".
Milan Menten, who was riding in the wheel of Caudell at the time of the crash and also fell, reported the traumatic moment: “About halfway through the race, Ezra and I wanted to bridge across to the breakaway," the Lotto-Intermarché had told Het Laatste Nieuws.
“We got to within ten metres of the final rider when he looked behind to see how big our advantage over the peloton was. Unfortunately, Ezra lost his balance and his front wheel hit either the kerb or a drain. His front wheel broke and he went straight into a lamppost. He took me down with him. I was in a lot of pain myself, but I could see straight away that it was bad. He just wasn’t moving.”
"The best account of what happened is from the other rider (Menten, ed.)," Caudell continued. "We were bridging to the break away, and I either hit a man hole cover or a curb looking back to see the peloton and I lost control hitting a light pole with the left side of my body".
Ezra Caudell reveals list of injuries
Immediately, the injuries were interpreted as life-threatening. Caudell was struggling to breathe, and this persisted for weeks after the crash, despite the quick and effective medical care: "I damaged my left lung really bad and had a breathing tube put in in the Ambulance that wasn’t removed until September 9th".
"Even with the breathing tube, and chest tubes on both sides to keep my lungs inflated, I was still having trouble oxygenating my blood on my own. The Doctors decided to put me on ECMO which is basically a machine that takes the blood from your femoral artery, oxygenates it and it goes back in. Like a lung outside of you".
Luckily, the fast intervention of the medical teams in Philadelphia saved Caudell's life, but his long-term health remained at risk. The now 20-year old revealed the extensive list of injuries he has endured:
"They put me on ECMO at Einstein, but had to get me to Thomas Jefferson University for more specialized treatment. The lungs were definitely bad, but I also had a Grade 3 DAI brain injury, Paresthesia of my left arm, orbital facial fracture, fractured rib, multiple fractures in my neck, spinal cord injury and some random stuff".
Caudell has had to stay in a coma for almost two weeks, and a slow recovery process then began. Due to the extensive list fractures and the complicated health situation, a quick recovery is not viable, but on his Instagram post he has showcased several steps in his recovery, where his neurological injuries are still on display.
Nevertheless, the American's positivity is remarkable, with some humour in hi words inlcuded: "The lungs took a while to stay up and work on their own which kept me in the hospital for a while. Moral of the story is poles fight pretty good when you hit em!"
"Thankfully Philadelphia has a great hospital that had the resources I needed for a crash like this. I was released exactly a month after the crash in September and sent to a rehabilitation facility to help with my day to day functions and starting to get my left arm more mobile".
Caudell has a contract with Modern Adventure for 2027, but there is no indication yet on whether it will be possible to return to professional cycling. For the time being, he is going through rehabilitation to regain total function of his body.
"I was then released Saturday from rehabilitation and can now head back to Georgia for outpatient rehab while I wait to be cleared to fly in early December! Long Instagram summary of what I’ve been up to haha! Thanks again for everyone’s messages, support, visits, and prayers it means a lot," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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