Irish pro cyclist ready to race after recovering from Utah crash

When he piled into the side of a race support car in the Tour of Utah on August 9th, many feared for five-time Irish cycling champion Matt Brammeier. And with good reason: the 30-year-old struck the Porsche vehicle at speed, having overcooked his entry into a blind corner on a steep descent.

Brammeier attempted to brake but was still moving briskly when he collided with the side of the car. He was then catapulted into the air by his momentum and hit the boot before eventually landing on the ground.

He fractured ribs on both sides of his chest and suffered a puncture to one lung.

In addition to that he sustained fractures to sacral and pelvic bones, as well as bruising his liver and cracking a tooth.

Given the nature of the crash, his injuries were less serious than they might have been. Still, his season was over and he was facing a long road back to full fitness.

Better position

Almost five months later, he’s in a much better position.

“Considering the accident, things could have been a lot worse,” Brammeier says. “I’ve been making good progress and I’m ready for a good year. I’ve been training well. I got back to it when other riders were on their post-season break, so I’ve got a bit more done than most.

“I’ll need to do more intensive racing at the start of the season to make up for the races I missed in the autumn, but things should otherwise be fine. I’m in a good place. I’ve done some good training and I’m ready to go.”

Born in Liverpool but declaring for Ireland in 2009, Brammeier has won a total of five national titles. He has raced for teams such as HTC-Highroad and Omega Pharma-QuickStep and won stage four of the Ster ZLM Toer in 2015.

However, he has yet to compete in a three-week Grand Tour, missing out on a likely Vuelta a España start due to his crash.

Riding one of the sport’s top stage races is a big goal for him and, providing he returns to top competitive form, he has a strong chance in 2016.

Prior to the new season his MTN Qhubeka team were racing at Pro Continental level. They needed invites to top events but will move up to the World Tour level in 2016. As a result, they will have automatic starts in all the biggest races, including the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

Solid chance

Fielding squads in each of those three-week races means that Brammeier and many of the others on the African squad have a solid chance of being selected.

“I’ll be doing the Ruta del Sol and Paris-Nice early on, then building up to ride all the big classics,” he said. “Of those, I’ll be targeting Paris-Roubaix in particular and will miss the Tour of Flanders the week before so I’m as fresh as possible.

“After that, I’ll be working hard to try to get in the team for the Tour de France. That’s the big goal. I could have targeted the Giro and the Vuelta, but riding the Tour is really important to me.”

Brammeier raced in the past with Mark Cavendish, arguably the sport's best sprinter. He has also been friends with the Briton for many years. With Cavendish now part of the team, he sees that relationship as being important.

“Being back with Mark will be good. My aim is to work my way into his leadout team, being one of those who set him up for the sprints. That could be my ticket to the Tour, and I’ll work hard for that to happen.”