Just over a year after being paralysed when hit by a motorist while riding a time trial (TT), Mark Millar made an emotional return to action yesterday.
The three-time Rás Tailteann rider and
former top flight triathlete was in action in Warrenpoint at the combined
Thomas White Memorial 10 Mile TT and final round of the Irish Paracycling
Series.
Millar came away with the bronze medal
in the handcycling category; clocking a time of 27:17.
However, that he is back in action at
all and has managed to do it so quickly is his most impressive performance yet.
The 39-year-old was left with no chance in June of last year when hit from behind by a motorist in her SUV while he was riding the Ulster 100 Mile TT Championships in Co Antrim.
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Unfortunately, he broke his spine in four places and his
spinal cord was severed. He is now paralysed as a result.
Millar had ridden the Rás in 2017 and the previous two editions and his triathlon career had seen him compete at home and abroad.
While his life has changed since his crash, he is in the
middle of an incredible comeback; his racing return in Warrenpoint a huge
development.
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“I was very nervous at the start to be
honest. I’ve really only been out half a dozen times and that was on Airport Road
Estate and over in Portugal where there was virtually no traffic to worry about,”
he said of going back to the open roads yesterday.
“Once I settled into the effort I wasn’t
too bad and just focused on turning the pedals. There was certainly a sense of
relief at the finish and emotion.
“It’s been something I wanted to do from
an early stage in my recovery. So it feels good and it was great to have the
lads from the club (Velo Café Magasin) out to support me and meet up with a few
friendly faces.
“I’m possibly not as fit as I’d like to
be but I set myself a target of getting back to racing before the season ended
so yesterday was a target,” he added.
Millar said he was very thankful to all
of those who had supported him since his crash.
“It’s
been a long 15 months and I still have a bit to go in terms of recovery but
I’ll get there,” he explained.
While that time since the crash has been
life-changing, Millar said the past seven months as he was trying to prepare to
get racing again featured many complications.
“I’ve been in and out of hospital since
January with various complications but the last few weeks I’ve been able to add
some cardio training alongside the rehab and pain management,” he said.
“So I’ve been starting to gain a bit of
momentum. The bike feels good so I’ll probably mostly focus on that for a while
until my hip and lower back problems are improved.”
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