"I have no memories of the crash" - Ivar Slik reflects on comeback from life-threatening crash
Gravel
Six months after a life-threatening crash in the United States, Ivar Slik is looking forward to returning to the gravel racing circuit. The Dutch rider, who made history as the first European to win Unbound Gravel, has set his sights on the iconic event as his ultimate goal for 2025.
“I have no memories of the crash or the 10 days after,” Slik shared with Cyclingnews, recounting the terrifying incident on a remote dirt road in Arkansas. During a training ride on May 21, 2024, Slik collided head-on with a truck, suffering a concussion, fractured skull, broken nose, knee injury, and two brain hemorrhages. “In my head, it was just a slight concussion; I didn’t understand why everyone was so worried.”
Recovery was grueling, involving multiple surgeries and months of therapy. Slik revealed the emotional toll of his time off the bike, “It was painful to see the season slip by without me, but I knew I would be back. I learned much about myself and now know how much I love cycling.”
After months of perseverance, Slik has returned to full training. “I can do full weeks of training again without restrictions,” he explained, outlining his plans to compete in beach races in December to prepare for the 2025 gravel season. Looking ahead, he is targeting races like Gravel Locos, The Traka, and The Rift, as well as adventures like the Migration Gravel Race in Kenya and the Saga Gravel Race in Chile. Still, his primary focus remains on Unbound. “That’s more than a race; it’s an adventure. At least I want to equal my 2022 season, and the prospects are good. This year was a big setback, but I have been working very hard since then, and I am looking forward to next year with great confidence.”
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Reflecting on the support he received throughout his recovery, Slik expressed deep gratitude: “I am incredibly grateful to my friends, family, and medical teams. Without them, this would not have been possible. It now feels like I’ve been given a second chance, and I will grab it with both hands.”
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- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024