Concussion: The Life - Saving Facts

Knocks to the head aren’t uncommon in cycling — but every single one must be taken seriously and treated with extreme caution, as Michelle Arthurs-Brennan finds out

- Michelle Arthurs-Brennan

If you want to see how serious concussion can be, look no further than the footage of Latvian pro-Toms Skujins crashing on a descent in the 2017 Tour of California. He picks himself up and stumbles helplessly across the road — into the path of a fast descending chase pack, which narrowly manages to avoid him. Horrifyingly, he is helped back on to his bike by a motorcyclist, then zigzags all over the road, almost hits a curb, and carries on — inexplicably, no one stops him. The video has been viewed over 200,000 times on YouTube.

Skujins’s team managers at what was then Team Cannondale-Drapac could only watch from afar as they negotiated the melee of team cars to try to reach him. Incredibly, the Latvian rode another 10km in a severely disorientated state.

The moto rider who assisted Skujins back on to his bike was only trying to help. But in this case, what was needed was a firm, non-negotiable 'no'.

CW contacted Skujins to ask what had happened that day.

“I rode for another 10 to 15 kilometers that I actually don’t recall at all,” he told us. “Once I realized where I was and registered my surroundings, I was pretty ready to step off the bike.”

The 28-year-old, who is Latvian national champion, now rides for Trek- Segafredo. He took his recovery very seriously and spent days in a dark hotel room, avoiding screens and resting his brain, not returning to the bike until eight days later — and even then, only for a one-hour turbo trainer spin. Only once he had completed a concussion protocol test, assessing his reaction times and memory, did he return to the road.

“Pro cycling doesn’t take concussion seriously enough,” Skujins reflected. “It has taken people having problems after concussion for it to get better.”

What is a concussion?