Aaron Buggle in action on the Rás before disaster struck and he was forced to abandon (Photo: Adrian O'Connor www.blackumbrellaphotography.com )
By Brian Canty
One week on from his horror crash on stage three of the An Post Rás and Aaron Buggle is in good spirits as he resets his targets for the season ahead.
The Rás had been a big goal for the Meath man. And he seemed to have timed his form to perfection as he had been one of the strongest riders on the opening two stages before he smashed a traffic bollard at 50kph outside Rathkeale, suffering concussion and severe facial lacerations.
The Rapha Condor JLT pro somehow finished that stage, from Nenagh to Listowel, though he doesn’t remember doing so. And because he had to take an injection for the pain afterwards, he had to pull out of the race by not starting the following morning.
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He’s back on the bike, however, and looking forward to his next race – the Tour of Korea from June 9th to 16th.
“I’m not too bad now. I pulled my head out there a few days ago. I went into hibernation for a while after the crash,” he said.
“It was a pain alright; I was really upset afterwards because we had no out-and-out leader and I was flying the first few days; I really felt good. Even though I’d been in the mix the opening few days, it didn’t even feel like I was digging in or doing anything. I was looking forward to the harder days and I’d actually earmarked the stage that I crashed in to have a go at the end. But I knew as soon as I hit the ground I was out.”
Buggle hit a traffic cone – an “identical” crash to the one he had in Australia back in January.
“I can’t remember finishing the stage, which is a bit scary. I rode 50km supposedly and I can’t remember any of it.”
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“I can remember being up near the front, sitting about 20 back and a couple of guys went each way. I remember one of the guys in front of me parked it a little bit and moved out of the way really quickly and I didn’t know what he was doing but when he moved it was just a traffic bollard in front of me and I went straight over the top of it at about 50kph.”
“I smashed the bike, broke everything. There wasn’t anything to be salvaged. I broke the glasses, the helmet, the bike, the wheels. My face and right shoulder got the brunt of it and I knew the race was done for me; I wasn’t going to get back to the front group.”
He was taken to Cork University Hospital but it was several hours before he was seen.
"I have to thank (Dr) Conor McGrane for his help in all of it. If it wasn’t for him I’d have been fucked. I wanted to start the following day but I also wanted something for the pain but he told me if he gave me anything I definitely wasn’t starting. He said he could give me morphine and I’d be okay – but I couldn’t race the day after. I left it 10 or 15 minutes but (the pain) just got too bad and I said ‘that’s it, give it to me’.”
Buggle returned home and took a few days off but he was back on the bike after three days; the stitches still planted on the right side of his face.
“I was under a dark cloud there for a few days and it was like the world was against me because every time I seem to go well...," he tails off.
"I don’t want to be like this crash victim all the time because every time you look at a f***** story about me it’s hitting the deck or something’s going wrong. And I don’t want to be known as that.”
“My programme was the Rás, Korea and the Nationals and I wanted that as the peak of my season. That’s where I wanted to nail it, but that’s changed now. I reckon I got the form right for the Rás so I’m hoping I can wake back up now. Korea is really hilly, probably a bit too hilly for me GC-wise. So I’d say it’ll be more Mike (Cuming) or Rich’s (Handley) territory. I’ll target two or three stages and hopefully try and get a stage win if I can.”
“Then the Nationals is one I’m really aiming for. The course really suits me. The TT isn’t a goal but if I pull a ride out, great. The focus is the road race. I don’t want to say what I want but I’d be disappointed if I came away without a medal this year; definitely on that course.”
