Martyn Irvine being interviewed before a crash ended his Tour of Taiwan; he is back home now
By Shane Stokes
Martyn Irvine is continuing his path to recovery, undergoing checkups and making initial arrangements to begin his rehabilitation from a bad femur fracture sustained on March 21st.
The UnitedHealthcare rider was assessed in recent days by a specialist in Belfast and told stickybottle that he needed to wait a little longer before knuckling down to the initial exercises which will help his recovery.
“I need to take it easy for another week or so to make sure the bone sets in the right place,” he said.
“I’m heading to SINI [Sports Institute of Northern Ireland this week] to start some light rehab but it'll be three weeks before I'll know about any weight bearing exercises.”
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Irvine made history on February 21st when he became the first Irishman in over 100 years to win a track cycling world championship gold medal. His success in the track race in Minsk, Belarus, came less than an hour after he took a silver medal in the individual pursuit, and was consequently one of the most impressive feats of the Worlds.
After returning to an enthusiastic reception and spending some time in Ireland, he then turned his focus to road racing with his UnitedHealthcare pro team. He travelled to the Tour of Taiwan and rode aggressively, but crashed out approximately fifty kilometres into the 115 kilometre fourth stage to Taichung.
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He was operated on by surgeons in Taiwan and after initial concerns that his injury was a particularly complicated one, his UnitedHealthcare team doctor Michael Roshon confirmed that the damage was not as bad as initially feared.
Roshon said that he suffered a proximal femur fracture and that he was expected to have ‘an uncomplicated recovery.’ This meant a quicker than expected return. “With a bit of luck, there is a very good chance he will return to racing this season,” he said.
Irvine returned to Ireland several days ago and will rest prior to starting gentle exercises. He will work with experts to gradually build up those activities, but it is too soon to know when he will return to the bike.
His UnitedHealthcare team manager Mike Tamayo has said he has faith that the 27 year old will make a successful recovery.
“A rider like Martyn is unquestionably one of the strongest and toughest guys we know,” he said.
“He will be back stronger than ever.”
His support is reassuring, particularly as Irvine’s current contract with the team is for one year.
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