Irish U23 rider Dylan Foley is back in the domestic peloton after a year out of racing due to a bizarre condition stemming from a crash in France last year. The Aquablue man had to have his neck and back re-aligned as they were putting pressure on his thyroid, which in turn affected his iron levels. (Photo: George Doyle)
By Brian Canty
Irish U23 international and former Rás Mumhan stage winner Dylan Foley made a return to racing in the last few weeks after a year out because of a niggling ailment he couldn't get to the bottom of.
The 20-year old Corkman spent much of 2015 on the treatment table in an effort to establish why his iron levels were so low, a condition that prevented him from training for more than one hour.
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The Aquablue man told stickybottle “the years are slipping by” in an urgent call for help in March but three weeks after the article was published he was on the road to recovery and on the start-line of the VisitNenagh Classic.
And it was all thanks to one of the country’s most well-known GAA personalities, Sean Boylan, who came to Foley’s aid.
Boylan, a herbalist by profession, found the answers Foley was looking for on the first consultation.
“After the article went up, there was a good response and a good few fellas who messaged me offering a helping hand,” said the latter.
“One guy I managed to see was Seán Boylan (former All-Ireland winning Meath manager) in Dunboyne.”
Foley’s issue arose last year in the early part of the season when he crashed during a race in France.
“I fell on my left shoulder and got a lot of whiplash out of it,” he recalled.
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“There were no broken bones only road rash.
“But after visiting Seán he was able to tell me my neck and shoulders were out of line, which was putting pressure on my thyroid (gland) and having multiple knock-on effects.
“I was sent to a chiropractor in Clontarf and after taking x-rays he was able to tell me the neck bone had moved, was curved in the wrong direction and there was a lot of trauma to the neck - all coming from the crash.
“After a few visits to him, the bone was moved back into place which relieved the pressure off the thyroid gland.
“Even though it was a very strange case, it didn't take me long to come around and within two weeks after the neck had been sorted my energy levels improved and I was able to resume some light training.”
For now, Foley plans to just build back up his fitness and race as much as he can, though the competitor in him already has one eye on the nationals in late June.
“At the start it seemed too good to be true.
“For something that went on as long to be sorted so fast but between Boylan and the chiropractor, they were very reassuring and everything has gone to plan with no setbacks or any previous symptoms.
“It's been well over a year since I confidently felt good on the bike and felt sure I’d no health problems.
“I've been back training about 4-5 weeks now though and back racing since the VisitNenagh Classic. I’ve come around a bit.
“The form is coming back faster than I thought and I'm hoping to get good form for the nationals and maybe chasing a good result there.”
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