Matt Brammeier loses control of the bike moments before crashing into a car during the Tour of Utah. The four-time Irish national road race champion has spoken publicly for the first time about the incident which has left him with several broken bones and a long road back to full fitness.
By Brian Canty
Matt Brammeier has recalled the final few harrowing moments that led to his horrific crash in the Tour of Utah earlier this month.
The four-time Irish national road race champion is currently recovering in his adopted hometown of Girona where he faces a lengthy lay-off.
The 30 year-old crashed into a car on a high-speed descent on the penultimate stage of the American stage race on August 8th.
He suffered three rib fractures on both sides, a punctured lung as well as broken sacral and pelvic bones.
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The disappointment of being sidelined is compounded by the fact he was enjoying some of the best form of his career this year.
In June he rocketed to the best victory of his career at the ZLM Toer in Holland when he attacked off the front to win stage 4 solo ahead of a world class field.
He has no idea yet when he’ll return to full mobility and indeed racing, but has set a target of the Tour Down Under in January as a possibility for his comeback race.
When we meet, his demeanour is remarkably upbeat, despite the severity of the injuries.
“I’m alright, I’m happy, I can’t comprehend how lucky I was really,” Brammeier said.
“I haven’t watched any videos of the crash but anyone who has, said ‘how are you walking, how are you not worse’.”
Brammeier was enjoying a really solid season after a few years in the continental ranks. He was back riding the big Belgian Classics and acquitting himself very well.
News of the crash spread quickly and footage of the incident went viral within minutes of it happening.
“It had been fast that day, I remember doing 109kph at one point on a descent, obviously not that speed when I hit the car but it was just like, I was feeling really good,” he recalled.
“We started the second last climb and I was riding for (Natnael) Berhane and we put him in a good position at the bottom.
“I started the climb, rode my own pace and started to feel better and better the whole way up it.
“Towards the top I wasn’t too far off the leaders but I knew it was only Berhane at the front by himself.
“So I got to the top and there was a little group in front of me and from there to the front group was only a minute and a half so I just thought they’d make it back on. That’s why I wanted to get across.”
The 20k descent would be fast and Brammeier wanted to get across to Berhane before the final pull up to the finish.
“I just wanted to make it back to help him because he’s quite a young guy without much experience.
"He needs a bit of guidance sometimes. I was just fighting to get back on.”
Getting his time trial underway at the World Road Championships in Copenhagen in 2011; Brammeier is a quality rider who can get back to top level despite his significant crash set-back (Photo: Sirotti)
He remembers rounding the second last bend before his crash. Then things took a dramatic turn for the worse.
“I just remember coming around that corner, it was one of the first corners of the climb on the downhill side and there was just a line of traffic up ahead.
“Straight away I saw all the cars and where they were in the road but the traffic threw me onto the wrong side of the road.
"So my line was totally messed up around the corner…there was no chance of me making it so I was just looking for an exit plan, really.
“I was headed for the bushes but this car just turned right in front of me.
“I thought he was going to stop but he just drove around the corner, I hit it and that’s the last thing I remember.”
Brammeier was knocked out briefly and doesn’t remember anything until he arrived in hospital “which is probably a good thing”.
“I think at that point, I was out of it, I didn’t really feel any pain or anything. I was just pretty spaced out,” he said of that first night.
“When I had my first diagnosis at the hospital I was like ‘fuck, this is really bad’.”
Brammeier celebrated his biggest career win this year when he won a stage of the ZLM Tour from a world-class field.
His first instinct when he woke was to get in touch with loved ones, who he feared might not have an up-to-date or accurate version of events.
“I managed to get in touch with Nikki (fiancee) before she turned the phone on or got to look at any nasty videos, which was lucky. I just got in touch with family pretty fast.
“They’re okay now, thankfully," he said of those around him who would naturally be most worried.
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“Obviously I’ve had accidents before so they’re used to it a little bit.
“My dad’s a fireman as well so he’s used to seeing a bit of stuff and of course he was shook up a bit after getting that phone call in the middle of the night.
“It can’t have been nice but I think he was alright.”
Brammeier spent three nights in a hospital in Utah until he was stable enough to travel back to the UK where his family lives.
And it wasn’t lost on him how lucky he actually was.
“Doctors told me my broken ribs are usually sustained from your head hitting something," he explained.
Riding Paris-Roubaix with HTC-Highroad. The collapse of the team just days after it had offered him a longer contract on a higher salary is just one of the setbacks Brammeier has overcome to remain in the pro peloton. He had been flying this year until his crash but will hopefully return to racing in January.
"But I’ve got no head injuries and I had some internal injuries like a punctured lung and my liver was damaged. But the medical staff couldn’t believe I didn’t break more ribs.
“My pelvis as well; where that’s broken but for my spine to be intact is unbelievable, I’m lucky I came away with what I did.
“My sacrum is broken at the back and my pubis bone too, but nothing has been displaced, which would have been worse.”
Setbacks are nothing new to the former HTC-High Road man.
He’s recovered from broken legs early in his career - after being run over by a cement truck in 2007.
He was a member of HTC-Highroad when it collapsed just days after he was offered an extended contract on higher salary.
And he has been controversially overlooked for national selection a few times despite winning the Irish road race title four times.
Brammeier spent three nights in hospital in Utah before being transferred back to the UK. He will be on crutches for the next three weeks before returning to the UK for more scans and x-rays to ensure bis broken bones are healing correctly.
But the crash in Utah has given him a fresh perspective on life, he said.
“When something like this happens, cycling is the last thing you think about. I just think about family and I’m always worrying about other people.
“That was the first thing that came into my head; I wanted to get in touch with my family and Nikki. The last thing I thought about was when I’ll be back racing.
“Maybe I’m at the stage of my career where I realise what’s important and sometimes, cycling isn’t the most important thing.
“I was having a good year and I was looking forward to the Vuelta. I had everything sorted; flights were booked and it was all-systems go.
“I had good shape and I was the lightest I’d ever been, it was all perfect and everything was good to go… and then this happened.
“But, I realised pretty quickly who my real friends were as well and that's one of the good things that comes out of a shit situation like this; it makes you realise who your real friends are.
“There were many people who expressed good wishes but more didn’t bother to come to see me or send a message. Shit like that pissed me off.”
Winning the National Road Race Championships in June 2012, at the same time it emerged he had not been picked for the London Olympics (Photo: Brendan Slattery)
He described the first 10 days after the accident as being truly hellish.
He couldn’t sleep very well and woke up in a pool of sweat up to four times a night for 10 nights.
“Now, I’m not saying it’s nothing but I’m up and walking about and yeah, fairly happy with where I am.
“I was enjoying my riding and enjoying going to races,” he continued ruefully.
“I had a couple of years in smaller teams but I enjoyed that as well, going to different countries and experiencing different cultures.
"But being back in a team like MTN-Quebeka made me realise and appreciate what I’ve got.”
Asked had he any comeback date in mind he declined to say exactly but speculated January next year.
“It’ll be next year, I’d like to start pretty early. It’s quite a long winter and I’ll be raring to go.
"I don’t know if I’ll be doing Tour Down Under, this year we had an invitation to go so fingers crossed we can go there. That’d be a nice race to get back for.”
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