Great cycling hope, 19-year-old Albert Withen Philipsen suffered a violent fall in training

“The last few days have been quite hard…” Junior road world champion in 2023, in particular, Albert Withen Philipsen, 19, is considered one of the great hopes of Danish cycling. And global. A potential opponent for Paul Seixas in the next decade. A promising start to his career which almost came to an abrupt end.

The young runner from the Lidl-Trek team was indeed the victim of a terrible and violent fall, at 80 km/h, during an ordinary training session last Friday. Tuesday evening, he gave reassuring news on his social networks. A message accompanied by photos where he hides nothing about his injuries.

“I don’t remember much”

“I don’t remember much – one minute I was going downhill at 80kmh and the next thing I remember I was lying on the ground – alone, half-conscious, trying to use the small window of adrenaline to call the emergency services while blood ran down my face,” he said.

“I think this is the first time I’ve been really scared after an accident,” continues the Dane. Luckily, I was found quickly, and a group of people did an incredible job managing the situation until the ambulance arrived. »

He took the opportunity to thank many people who were able to provide him with first aid and said he was “extremely lucky to be back home with no internal injuries, apart from a heavy blow to the head, and no broken bones – although I’m still pretty banged up at the moment.”

Despite the fear and pain, Albert Withen Philipsen did not lose his sense of humor. “You know it was a real accident when the clinic runs out of bandages after two days,” he laughs.

After a necessary rest period, the Dane hopes to get back on a bike and resume the course of his career. “The recovery will take time, but I will come back stronger,” he promises at the end of the message.