The lives of cyclists are closely linked to results and performance but, like a large iceberg, below the waterline there are many factors that determine them. One of these is injuries and their recovery but healing is not just a physical issueFirst, there's the psychological aspect that underpins the athlete's full and strong recovery (first, Elisa Longo Borghini crosses the finish line in Ceres at the Giro Donne after a fall, escorted and consoled by Shirin Van Anrooij. She won't start again the next day).
The injuries of pogacar e Balsamo they gave us the idea to understand how to proceed as soon as an accident happens and at that moment months of plans are ruined. We have explored the topic further with Elizabeth Borgia, sports psychologist of the Lidl Trek and the Italian national team.
Health first
Pogacar arrives at Liège as a big favorite after his consecutive victories at Flèche Wallonne, Amstel, Flanders and all the others obtained in March and February. At kilometer 85, however, he is involved in a daring fall. The 24 year old from UAE Team Emirates immediately realized something was wrong. He fractured his left scaphoid in five places.Preparations for the Tour de France are significantly slowed down.
At the end of May things are worse in BalsamoThe former Lidl-Trek world champion crashed twice in the space of a few kilometers during the first stage of Ride London. The outcome was brutal. She also suffered a fracture of the scaphoid (right) with the addition of a fracture of the left and right mandible.His schedule leading up to the World Championship is getting complicated. How do you start again the day after these blows?
"It's a complex process," Borgia analyzes, "because we have to start much earlier. At the beginning of the season, each athlete makes his own "goal setting" in light of the competitive calendar. By defining strategies and reviewing whether you're working effectively, you plan, organize, and try to make the future predictable by defining the next steps. When obstacles arise (accidents, illnesses or even just unexpected responses to workloads) the situation is assessed at every single pointNot all injuries are the same, as we saw with the cases of Pogacar and Balsamo. Surgery certainly facilitated their recovery, albeit with different timeframes.
«At that moment, the original goal setting is modified and the first objective, often taken for granted, becomes health, along with the most effective strategies to achieve it (therapies, rest, etc.). Plan A, the most desirable one, no longer exists and the athlete must refocus on a new plan without continuing to make comparisons with the old plan which is now unachievable.This is the mistake we tend to make, even out of excessive willpower and a desire for revenge. You have to listen to your body and give it the physiological way to recover.The physique of a high-level athlete always has shorter times than normal, but you shouldn't force them."
Phase 2, the readjustment
In the meantime both Pogacar and Balsamo have returned to racingThe Slovenian finished second in the Tour, winning two stages and paying the price in as many days in the third week. The 25-year-old from Cuneo is in the running for the Tour Femmes and in the third leg she showed herself again in the finishing orders with an encouraging fifth place in the sprint. How did they experience their time away from racing?
«Once your health status has been ascertained – continues Borgia, a doctor of psychology – the second phase is to reprogram everything and mentally readjust as quickly as possible. Aside from physical recovery, the goals become other and not necessarily competitive. I imagine Pogacar had to see how his wrist felt in everyday gestures.Then on the bike, under stress, gripping the handlebars and so on. Elisa had a much harder convalescenceIn the first phase he had difficulty eating solid foods and therefore he also had to change his diet."
"With her," he continues, "we set small weekly goals. This is how you work when the final goal seems far away. So it's important to set small, challenging but achievable goals that strengthen, motivate, and help the athlete feel in control. If we think about the difficulty of moving our mouths normally again, the Tour or the World Championships take a back seat.Or rather, they remain goals that resurface when your continued growth allows it. We know it's difficult to re-establish a sort of hierarchy and start over from the first steps, especially for those accustomed to high-level performance. But it is a sacrifice, if we want to call it that, that must be made to get back to a high level.».
No exaggerations and return
The cyclist by nature always wants to make up for lost timeWhether it's a puncture, perhaps with technical assistance far away. Whether it's a fall or an accident. But these are all incomparable cases.
«Men and women of sport – continues the psychologist from Piacenza –they are focused on “problem solving”, that is, on changing a situation that is not ideal or that makes them feel uncomfortable. They are much less accustomed, however, perhaps because it is mistakenly seen as a sign of surrender, to accept and take note of a situation when it cannot be changed.a. It is important, however, to be able to analyze and contextualize what happened with clarity., so that you can also make the next move correctly.
«Sometimes the best move, even if it is totally opposite to what would be impulsive to do in order not to lose ground, is to rest and listen to yourself. Sometimes it means realizing that, despite everything, things could have been much worse. Watch Longo Borghini at the Giro Women's cyclingWith that fall he had to abandon the race and say goodbye to his hopes of winning the Giro. However If she had fallen any further there was a small wall, she could have hurt herself much more and lost the rest of the season.
«Naturally – concludes Elisabetta Borgia – there must be teamwork because otherwise nothing can be reprogrammedCommunication and sharing are needed, as happened in Balsamo's case, among doctors, sports directors, and trainers. Our entire staff participated in his return by bikeEveryone did their part, from the very first moral support, when it was difficult to decide on a time and method of return, to planning new goals during recovery. After that new evaluations are made race after race, not limited only to the result but to the 360 degree performance, taking into account both the positive things and the areas that still need improvement with lucidity and coolness."
