By Shane Stokes
Winner of stage one of the Rás Tailteann in 2022, Matt Teggart was absent from the peloton in this year’s race. The Belfast rider was in attendance at the Rás, helping out the Cycling Ulster team, but he is unable to compete at present due to post-viral fatigue linked to infections several months ago.
It’s a big blow for the 27-year-old, who was hoping to build on a superb 2022. Last season brought some fine results: amongst those, fourth place in the Commonwealth Games road race plus the intermediate sprint classification at the Tour of Britain. He was poised for a big year. Instead he’s resting, recovering, and hoping to be able to return to competition at some point in the coming weeks.
“I got shingles in around Christmas. I wasn’t too bad with it, to be honest. I honestly didn’t even know I had it,” Teggart told stickybottle. “I was training away at the time, feeling pretty good. Just doing my usual winter, and then about three weeks later, I got really, really badly sick. I was testing negative for Covid, but it was all Covid-like symptoms. So I assume that’s what it was.
Advertisement
“I was absolutely flattened for about a week, in bed with really bad coughing, vomiting and everything. I don’t think I’ve ever been that bad before. I do a good bit of coaching and I have enough history in the sport to know how to do things the right way. So I made sure my comeback was really, really slow. I rode very easy in my reintroduction to training. I did a couple of weeks of really slow zone one, zone two, and built myself up.”
Teggart went with his-then AT85 Pro Cycling team to do a two week training camp in Calpe. He remained cautious. “I cut every day short, did no intensity, did everything right there. I felt really good, came out of that feeling really, really good. Then took a week to recover from that
“Everything was right. Then I started to build up the intensity towards racing. And again felt really good, doing some of my best-ever numbers. I felt fantastic. I raced at home in the first race of the season in Annaclone and felt really, really good that day.”
Teggart said he probably should have won the race, but punctured with four kilometres remaining. However the sensations were all positive. But when he tried competing the following day, problems appeared.
“After 20 minutes I tried to make an effort and almost felt like I’d the hunger knock. I was fully exhausted. I naturally thought I was getting ill, so took that week easy. I then felt okay the following week, and exactly the same thing happened within the first 20 minutes of the next race. I just had to pull in and climb off. And ever since that day I’ve just felt rubbish.”
No physical exertion, rest as much as you can
Teggart’s symptoms worsened from that point. He felt constant mild headaches day to day, and would sleep ten or 11 hours a night yet wake up exhausted. He said he felt ‘horrible’ and couldn’t bear the thoughts of any exercise at all.
Fortunately things have improved slightly in recent weeks, although his body is still telling him to hold back. “I still feel like I couldn’t physically exert myself. Maybe an easy endurance ride, but no intensity.”
Teggart is being looked after by the Irish Sports Insititute and went through a battery of tests. They did blood analysis, an ECG, a ramp test to monitor his physiological responses. “All my numbers are quite good, nothing jumps out,” he said. “It is just post viral fatigue syndrome.”
Teggart explained that the syndrome is common amongst the general population at the moment due to long Covid. He noted too that it doesn’t affect people in everyday life too badly, but poses more challenges when people try to exert themselves. “If I had an office job it wouldn’t really be bothering me,” he explained. “It is only when you are trying to be a pro bike rider.”
So what advice has he been given? “The doctors have advised me no physical exertion, just rest as much as you can,” he answered. “I am making sure I am sleeping well, eating well, doing everything right.
Related News
“I do feel now in the last week that I am getting a lot better. I feel like I have more energy in general and I’m sleeping a wee bit better. So hopefully I’m not too far away.”
“I’d rather be here and be involved"
Teggart’s experience is a reminder of the risks of Covid. An estimated one in ten of people across various age groups end up with long Covid and, even though he took things easy coming back, he was one of the unlucky ones.
“I think the issue was the double whammy,” he explained. “Shingles first…I didn’t physically feel that bad from shingles but my immune system was fighting hard. And then the Covid hit. So, a double whammy.”
As ever, what’s important is to listen to the body. He’s done the right thing in backing off, being cautious, and should make a good recovery over time.
It was easy to imagine Teggart feeling frustrated at the Rás, being around the race but not being able to take part. Going from a stage win to supporting others from the sidelines is a huge change. However he was surprisingly accepting of it.
“Obviously I would love to be in there. But I’ve done enough bike racing now that I’m not one of those people who are like, ‘no, I couldn’t go and watch,’” he said. “I’d rather be here and be involved, even if I am not riding. So it is nice to be here and see all the familiar faces and to feel like I’m part of the race still without actually riding.”
It was encouraging to see him at the race and clearly still enjoying the sport. He could have become disillusioned by what has been a year to forget, but he’s remaining upbeat. That’s to be admired: not only has he experienced illness and lingering fatigue, but also the collapse of his AT85 Pro Cycling team in March.
Teggart doesn’t allow himself to mull over such matters. He said that some good may come out of everything in the long run, and that he believes he still has a pathway in the sport once he is healthy again.
So how soon could he return to competition? He has a start in mind, although he doesn’t expect to do anything much there.
“I would hope to race the national championships,” he said. “That is quite close to home for me, half an hour away, so it is like a home nationals. And, apart from the Rás, it is obviously the biggest race in the country. So even if I’m not in good shape, which I know I won’t be, I’d like to at least show up.
“I’m not one to shy away if I thought I wasn’t going to win. I’d still like to get stuck in and think it would bring me on. So hopefully I’ll pin a number on for nationals, but I really have no idea.”
What helps him to be patient is knowing that he has a team to compete with. After AT85 Pro Cycling collapsed he joined the ROKiT SRCT squad, owned by the World Super Bike rider Scott Redding. And while it isn’t a UCI-ranked team, he said there are decent races on the programme.
Once he’s fit and ready for competition, there’s a place for him there.
“I can jump in almost immediately,” he said. “They have a pretty good programme as well. Lincoln GP last weekend, and they are doing the UCI Paris-Troyes soon [next Monday – ed.]. After nationals they have got Kreiz Breizh Elites and a couple of other UCI races.
“There are plenty there, there is a good calendar of stuff. So as soon as I get back I will be racing away.”
