Excerpt from Velo News: (click for entire article)
With increased scrutiny on BMX crashes and head injuries on the road, as well as brain injuries in sport, USA Cycling has engaged a number of physicians to develop protocols to help riders and their doctors better manage post-head injury recovery.
When Chris Horner crashed during the seventh stage of the 2011 Tour de France, he got back on his bike and finished the 135-mile route to Châteauroux. At the finish — clearly disoriented, with abrasions oozing on his face — Horner asked his soigneur, “I don’t understand… when did I crash? Has it been a long time?” Told that he had been riding for some time to get to the finish, Horner incredulously queried, “We’ve been chasing for 25K?”
Even after going to the hospital and getting word from doctors that the blow to his head was so severe that he could not continue racing, Horner later recalled that, “I wanted to race the next day and start the stage at the Tour!” After all, he thought, “We crash so much; it’s just part of the job. Eventually you are going to hit your head; that’s why we wear a helmet.”
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