When it comes to recovery, slow progress is better than no progress for Hitec Products’ Julie Leth, who crashed at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic on May 31 in North Carolina, and sustain a fractured vertebra, two breaks in her jaw and a broken elbow. Devastated that her injuries forced her to sit out of Thursday’s Danish time trial championships, of which she was the defending champion, she insisted that she will be back next year to try to win a second elite title.
“Tomorrow it's been one year since I won my first Danish elite ITT title,” Leth said in a Facebook post ahead of the championships. “I was supposed to defend my title later today. I'd lie if I said I wasn't devastated that I won't be able to race. It also feels weird not going to the championships for the first time since 2008. However, I'm happy recovery is going well, and that I'll hopefully get out of this without any permanent injuries. There are titles to be won again next year.”
Leth crashed early during the women's race at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic on a downhill, where she hit a dip in the road. She was taken to the Wake Forest Baptist Health Medical Center and treated for her injuries. After spending more than a week in hospital, she was released on June 6, however, despite trying to book a flight home to Denmark right away, she wasn’t able to fly home until June 11 because airlines required that she be accompanied by a doctor.
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“It took a long time before we were able to leave the US,” Leth told Cyclingnews. “I was admitted at the hospital for almost a week, and afterwards we struggled getting a flight home, since no flight companies wanted to take the ‘responsibility’ of flying with me. It was super frustrating to be stuck in the US. On the positive side, this meant that I was more recovered for the trip home.”
As for her injuries; a fractured T6 vertebra, two break in her jaw and a broken elbow, Leth said that she is recovering slowly. “I'm getting better everyday, but it's all baby steps,” she said. “But slow progress is better than no progress.”
The compression fracture to her T6 requires that she wear a back brace to support her spine. She said that typically patients need the brace for 10 weeks, however, her doctors have not confirmed how long she will need to wear it.
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