Timmy Eaton had a particularly nasty crash at the Buller National Round earlier this year, we followed his recoveryA�from the day of the crash up until his return to racing, here isA�what Timmy had to say about it all;
Day of the crash:
I was in Mount Buller at the first National Round when I had a pretty big over the bars crash, I knew I had hurt my elbow, wrist and knee fairly badly. As I sat in the tent icing it I realised I had felt this same sensation before, at Awaba in 2010, when I broke the same elbow and wrist. So I didn’t bother heading to first aid, as I knew I needed X-rays and it was most probably broken again. I had done it just before seeding on Saturday morning therefore everyone else had to stick around, so I drove myself to Mansfield about 30-40 minutes from Mount Buller to the hospital. When I got there I got the X-rays, it confirmed a broken elbow.
I was so disappointed, my season was over, being only a 3 round season over 3 months makes it hard to come back after any bad luck. After spending the last 6 months preparing for this season I was in the best form I’d ever been in thanks to Jarah Breese at Breese High Performance, Also after signing with Giant Australia and doing my best to prepare for the season I had high expectations which are out the window. You can’t help but feel upset about it all. But you can’t let it get to you. Positivity gets you through these times and all I’ve been doing is looking forward and altering my goals for the year.
Week 1-5:
I headed home earlyA�on Sunday morningA�to get looked at by an elbow specialist and get more scans.
I had two weeks off work which sounds great but when you can barley walk or use your arm it sucks. I sat on the couch and watched movies everyday. I was going insane not being able to do any exercise. Ia��m lucky I have good mates who helped keep me company.
I ended up back at work two weeks later still not being able to do much but at least I am out of the house.
My plan was to keep in some kind of form by sitting on the trainer but my knee was still giving me issues so I left it for a few more weeks.
4 weeks after my crash I went back to the specialist and he cut my cast off…I was hoping for good news but they checked it out and put another cast on my arm for a further two weeks. At least the end is in sighta��
The National Champs was in my home town that weekend, which was my main goal for the season. Hard but it wasA�good to go back out and catch up with mates and watch them battle it out. Was a great event even with the torrential rain on race day. Was awesome to see the Hannah’s get both titles for Elite Male and Female!
Week 6
That following week my knee felt a fair bit better but still a little bit sore. I decided to get on the wind-trainer and do 30 minutes. My knee felt pretty good which I was really happy about which means I can slowly get back into getting back into shape. 6 weeks off, doing nothing really destroys any form you had. I’ve lost 5kgs of muscle in my legs and upper body. I can’t wait to get fully back into training and get back into form.
I went back to the elbow specialist, my elbow and wrist still felt a bit sore which had me worried. They took the cast off and sent me on my way with a physio appointment booked for the next day! My elbow and wrist were so stiff and a little sore. I only had about 40 percent rotation in my wrist and 20 percent movement at my elbow. It’s going to be a while before I’m back on the bike racing. The physio gave me some stretches and exercises to work on before my appointment the following week.
Week 7
This weekend I decided to go for a lake lap with a mate to see how I went, it was fine and was the best feeling riding again. The following day I went for a 1km swim and then a 70km road ride which was awesome. I’m stoked I can work on my fitness before getting back on the downhill bike. I still have a way to go with movement and strength but it’s just going to take time.
The physio appointment went really well. They were extremely happy with my progress saying I was ahead of schedule my range of movement was improving everyday. There was still a bit of pain but the first round at Thredbo is looking more promising!
Week 8-9
I went for my first ride off road to see how it would go, by doing a cruisy lap of Stromlo. A�It was awesome to be riding dirt again. It was a little painful but only when I had to react quickly, I didn’t have the strength in my arm to do so or the full mobility. Ill just keep on chipping away at it and try be sweet for Thredbo. I just have to be aware of my arm and not push to hard, especially if I decide to race which is hard for me just to cruise under race conditions.
I went out to the Mont 24hr I went out to watch a mate and ended up doing a lap for his team mate who broke his collarbone. It wasA�a 5amA�lap which was tough, but I got through it and felt good to push myself hard. My arm felt weak and pretty sore after a small run in while overtaking another rider.
I went to the physio again the following week and had some shock therapy to stimulate blood to the joint. Then booked in for an X-ray to see how the bone was going before I get back on the downhill bike.
Week 10
The x-rays came back and they said its healing wella��its still got a small crack in it but Ia��ve been cleared to ride. I was told to wear a brace but I wasna��t happy with the protection it was going to give, so we agreed on the elbow pad while riding. I got more of the shock therapy at physio and that weekend I headed up to Thredbo to test out my arm for the race the following weekend. It felt good to be back on the bike but I was pretty stiff and needed to loosen up, which only time on the bike can do. I managed to only do 6 runs because my hands where done, I couldna��t hold on longer and didna��t want to crash so I called it a day. I knew the following weekend was going to be hard…
Week 11
The week of the race, it was a good feeling packing and getting everything together. I headed up on Friday night and was staying with Specialized Dave, Booga and Hamish. Phil Piazza and Benny Cory arrived on Saturday morning. I was so keen for practice on Saturday, I did about 7 runs, and probably over did it but I was just stoked to be riding with everyone again. It rained a bit in the arvo which made the track pretty slippery and made for some wild times.
Then the rain stopped and I went and got ready for the pump track competition. I spent most of the practice session getting used to my new STP which I built up on Friday before the race, just trying to get as much time on the bike as I can to get back up to speed. I think I ended up 4th and was a fun event, pump track races are always awesome.
The next day I woke up the sorest I have ever felt from riding. Thredbo defiantly beats you up and I was struggling. My hands felt worse than they did at the end of practice on Saturday. I had to change my suspension set up on my forks, which helped a bit. I did 3 practice runs with Hamish and Benny which where good, getting to talk about lines and test things out.
Qualifying came around and I wanted to try and get as many points as I could for the series, I ended up 7th and I was pretty much done after thata��my elbow was not in a good way, I tweaked it in bunny walk and it was really weak and sore, I probably jumped the gun a bit by racing but I knew I just had to get through one more run. I got some Charge into me before finals and it helped with the lactic in my arms, and my hands felt better. My race run was a shocker, I was so fatigued I just made mistake after mistake. Then had one big moment when my hand blew off my bars and I managed to ride out of it and keep going. Then I decided to back off and just get to the bottom in one piece. I ended up 9th. I was disappointed with my time but I couldna��t expect much from the race as it was my 3rd day back on the downhill bike.
Now I have about two months to prepare and get ready for the next round at Del Rio. Nothing motivates you more than getting smoked so Ia��m getting as much time on the bike as I can doing a lot of XC as my arm still isna��t quite ready for gym work yet, but shouldna��t be too much longer!
So there we have it a return from injury, the highs and the lows. We have no doubt Tim will be (and already is!) back on the podium.
Words: Timmy Eaton
Images: Timmy Eaton and Ronnie Grammatica