Milan Vader (Jumbo-Visma) fell into a coma following a fall on the stage 5 of the Tour of the Basque Country. He went over the parapet and injured his carotid artery in particular, but also fractured several vertebrae, a collarbone and a shoulder blade. He was rushed to hospital in critical condition.. He was then operated on and placed in an artificial coma.. Now, that he came out of the coma and that his condition is improving, we can wonder about his future as a top athlete. What can he expect ?
Serious injuries
Several types of wounds need to be healed. Firstly, physical injuries. Of another, mental injuries. A fall, especially of this magnitude, never leave unscathed. Will Mylan Vader want to get back on a bike? ? Only he can answer the question. Which is certain, is that it will take more than three months to recover from his physical injuries.
Ensuite, he will have to heal his mental wounds to no longer apprehend the descents or simply no longer be afraid to ride. This kind of trauma may or may not go away.. This is done on a case by case basis. Pierre Latour is a well-known example. He descends less well since a big fall. To return to the rider of the Jumbo-Visma, it is impossible to say whether he will regain his self-confidence even if he has a daredevil temperament as evidenced by his practice of mountain biking parallel to the road.
Its future on the road and in the undergrowth
If all of these traumas are repaired, Milan Vader will be able to ride a bicycle. This is not impossible as evidenced by the case of his compatriot Fabio Jakobsen.
The year 2022 was his first on the road. He previously practiced mountain biking.
The Dutchman is a teammate whose role was to help his leaders or go in the breakaways. It handles the bumps quite well. It has the ability to shine in hilly or mountain stages when it is in good shape.
Assuming it regains its post-accident shape, he should keep his role as a teammate at the very least. This until 2024 since his contract will end with the Jumbo-Visma at the end of this year.
His age plays to his advantage. He celebrated his 26 years at the beginning of the year. There is still plenty of room for improvement.
On the side of his team, human resources are not lacking. Without wanting to offend him, many individualists will be able to play the same role as him during his absence. Koen Bouwman has a fairly similar profile.
For the time being, his career as a mountain biker is put on hold. He is not on the list of athletes registered for the World Cup on the UCI website.
Milan Vader will have to heal first before considering a return to the professional peloton. Nothing is acquired but, with a little time and work, he could come back. For the time being, his season seems compromised but hope keeps alive. We can only wish him a good recovery and also success in the future..
Featured image source : @JumboVismaRoad
