Well, I haven’t done a blog for a few months and a lot has happened. Drentse 8 back in April was followed by Drenthe World Cup, where I placed 36th – a result that I was pleased with. Various other bits of racing followed including a four-day stage race in Czech, Gracia Orlova.

It was after we got back from this race when my season took a disappointing turn. We had a couple of easy days to allow the legs to recover after racing, then on the morning of Friday 7th May we set out on a normal training ride of three hours when our group was involved in an accident with a car. Basically, to cut the long story short, the car hit me directly and the outcome was a broken femur and wrist. Obviously I was absolutely gutted, but three months on it’s time to get over it and now I’m back on the bike!

The past three months have been quite difficult, both mentally and physically but I’ve come a long way in terms of getting flexibility back in the leg. The broken wrist didn’t prove too much of a problem – I was in a cast for four weeks so struggled as it was my left leg and right wrist – but it’s been a longer job with the leg.

There was a lot of muscle damage in my upper leg, probably best shown in the first two weeks after the accident when my leg was absolutely huge! Plus I struggled for a while with quads lag – basically I couldn’t contract my quadricep properly.

That took a long time to get right again, and quite a few painful hours of work with a Compex machine (a horrible device that sends electrical impulses to the muscle to help it contract, but feels like you’re being continually stabbed with needles) I struggled with walking too and only just got rid of my crutches completely a month ago.

But now I can get back on the bike and begin the journey back to fitness again. I’ve started off slowly, doing 8.5 hours last week and 11 this week. It does feel like I’m completely starting from scratch again, but I’m hoping that once I’ve done a few more weeks at least I’ll feel like more of an athlete again.

I got passed by a guy in trainers and riding an ancient mountain bike on Monday… not a proud moment especially as I was in the usual GB kit! Training has been based around work on the turbo and rollers, riding my road bike on the treadmill and road rides. The latter was a big step for me, there’s the old saying ‘if you fall off a horse get back on’ but obviously for me there was a three month gap between having the accident and getting back on the road so it was pretty scary at first.

I’m getting better though and I’m just trying to get on with it because obviously I recognise the need to have that confidence back if I’m to get on with my training. I’m in the process now too of looking for car sponsorship, as being able to drive out of Fallowfield in Manchester where I’m now based, to quieter roads around Wilmslow and the Peak District will be a lot better and hopefully, much safer.

It’s strange being back in Manchester as opposed to Belgium as the other Academy girls are still based out there. I’ve been keeping in contact with them and both Katie and Lucy have had great results recently.

I just wish I could be racing too. I’m not sure when my next race will be, the National Track Champs, U23 Europeans and Commonwealth Games are definitely out – a huge disappointment – but maybe the World Cup season in the winter will provide an opportunity to race again.

Anyway, I will keep my blog more up to date now I’m back in the saddle. And thanks to everyone who has supported me since the accident… it’s definitely helped me to keep my chin up.