Cyclocross international, and EvoPro Racing road rider, Seán Nolan has been left with a litany of injuries after riding into a trap set across one of his local trails in Co Meath.
While he managed to call an ambulance, he was waiting for around 1½ hours for it to arrive and was eventually diagnosed with broken ribs and fractured vertebrae.
The 20-year-old had come home from his base in Belgium to ride the XC MTB national championships this weekend and was out limbering up on a trail in Townley Hall, near Slane, when he rode into the trap – a rope left stretched across the trail – and came off his bike.
At the time he did not know how he had crashed or realise how badly injured he was. However, when the alarm was eventually raised his father, John Nolan, went to the crash scene to investigate and found the trap, pictured above. The incident has been reported to gardai in Drogheda, Co Louth.
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While that investigation is underway, Nolan is recovering having fractured his T11 and T12 vertabrae, at the bottom of his rib cage, as well as breaking four ribs and suffering a partially collapsed lung during the incident on Friday. He said he was riding a trail he had done hundreds of times before when he was suddenly thrown of his bike
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“I came around the corner and suddenly went over the handlebars on a straight section of trail,” he said. “I summersaulted in the air, landing on my back on a tree stump. I immediately had severe trouble breathing and was in excruciating pain with my back and ribs."
Nolan continued: “After lying on the ground, I was able to agonisingly remount my bike and make my way out of the forest down the access road to the main entrance. I continued on the road for 1km at an excruciatingly slow speed in severe pain and short of breath.
“After pulling into the corner car park of Townley Hall car park I lay down and called an ambulance. The operator requested a rapid response unit to be sent out to me after hearing my struggle for breath and the pain I was in.
"However, they were all already on call. An ambulance travelled from Swords and about 1½ hours after the crash I was in the ambulance on oxygen and being pumped with morphine.
“My injuries included four broken ribs, two fractures to my T11 and T12 vertebrae and a slightly collapsed right lung. I was very close to paralysis. I find it unbelievable that someone would go out of their way to try and injure me while I went about my business riding my bike and having fun. I am lucky to be alive and free from paralysis.”
