Martyn Irvine looks to have escaped what were feared season-threatening injuries when he came down during the Ghent Six-Day on Tuesday.
After crashing hard in the opening evening of the Ghent Six Day, it appears the Gods may have been smiling on Irish world champion Martyn Irvine, with his team confirming today that he has not suffered any broken bones.
The sight of the Newtownards man being stretchered off the famous velodrome on Tuesday was worrying, especially as he had spent most of this year on the side lines and trying to get back into the sport after breaking his femur at the Tour of Taiwan back in March.
The high speed spill saw him surrender the entire road season with his Unitedhealthcare trade team and came just a couple weeks after Irvine’s career hit a massive high when he won the world scratch title just an hour after taking silver in the pursuit at the World Track Championships in Minsk.
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Tuesday night’s crash in Ghent raised the prospect of Irvine being sidelined again for a lengthy period of recovery and rehabilitation. However, it has now emerged the injuries are not as serious as they may have been.
Instead of any broken bones, Irvine has suffered severe bruising to his left leg; an injury that will interrupt his immediate plans but should not derail the remainder of the year or any part of next year.
Unitedhealthcare said this morning it was looking forward to Irvine getting back into race action very soon.
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“Martyn Irvine was involved in a bad crash yesterday during the Ghent Six Day Track event in Belgium,” said team spokesman Wesley Mallette in a statement released late last night
“Although X-rays showed nothing was broken, Martyn did suffer significant bruising and had to withdraw from the event. However, he is in good spirits and would like to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and support following this crash.”
Irvine got back to racing in August and went on to win the bronze medal in the omnium in the European Track Championships. More recently he took his first win at a UCI World Cup, taking the points race in Manchester last month.
He was riding the iconic Ghent Six Day for the first time when he came down and was partnered with top six-day rider Marc Hester; a Dane who won the Copenhagen Six-Day last year.
In the months ahead, the next major fixtures on the international track calendar are two World Cup meetings in Mexico; from December 5th to 7th and from January 17th to 19th.
They are followed by the World Championships in Cali, Colombia, from February 26th to March 2nd where Irvine will be looking to add to his growing palmares.
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