Albert Withen Philipsen describes horror training crash after waking up half conscious and bleeding

The 19 year old Lidl-Trek rider crashed on Friday while descending at around 80km/h and said he remembers little of the incident itself.

“Sometimes shit happens, and the last few days have been pretty rough,” Philipsen wrote on Instagram. “I had a nasty training crash on Friday. I don’t remember much, one minute I was descending at 80kmh and the next thing I remember was lying on the ground, alone, half conscious, trying to use the small window of adrenaline to call the emergency services while blood was dripping down my face.”

Philipsen admitted the crash had frightened him more than previous falls.

“I think this is the first time I’ve ever truly been scared after a crash,” he said. “Fortunately, I was found quickly, and a group of people did an amazing job handling the situation until the ambulance arrived.”

The Dane thanked those who helped at the scene, as well as Lidl-Trek sports director Xabier Zabalo for being with him at the hospital.

Despite the severity of the crash, Philipsen has avoided internal injuries and broken bones, though he said he took “a heavy hit to the head” and remains “pretty banged up”.

“You know it was a proper crash when the clinic runs out of bandages after two days,” he joked.

The setback comes after a strong spring for Philipsen, one of Lidl-Trek’s brightest young talents. He finished eighth at Amstel Gold Race and followed that with eighth overall at the Tour de Romandie, results that underlined his rapid progress at WorldTour level.

“Recovery will take some time,” Philipsen concluded, “but I’ll come back stronger.”