Lucas Euser's professional cycling career was over on May 26, 2014. He just didn't know it at the time. When a motorcycle official stopped in the middle of the tricky descent from Lookout Mountain at the US Pro road race championships, it set off a chain reaction of events that culminated in Euser's premature retirement at age 32. Now, Euser wants to work to make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else as part of the ANAPRC (Association of North American Professional Road Cyclists).
Euser was hurtling down the hill in Chattanooga behind Taylor Phinney, who had just recently demonstrated his unparalleled descending abilities to win a stage in the Tour of California. They rounded a bend and were confronted with the motorcycle stopped in the centre of the road. Euser went left; Phinney went right and smashed into a metal barrier, shattering his lower leg. Rather than get back on his bike to continue racing, Euser rushed over to Phinney and, witnessing the horror of the compound fracture, comforted his friend until help could arrive.
While Phinney went on to a hard-fought recovery, winning a stage in the USA Pro Challenge and the team time trial World Championship with BMC, Euser's fortunes declined. Under pressure from his UnitedHealthcare team to get results, he found himself fighting against some unknown force - a force he is just now recognising is related to the trauma from that day in May. One year later, as his health and mental state had reached its low point, his future with UnitedHealthcare reached its end.
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"I always thought something was going on," Euser tells Cyclingnews. "I had this survivor's guilt. I've been in Taylor's position." In 2009, Euser was hit by a car while training in Girona, leaving his knee shattered. It took him two full years to get back to full strength but effectively ended his ambitions to race in the WorldTour.
"I know what it's like to have this fire underneath you - you have this clear-cut goal of getting better, and coming back stronger. There are direct measures with that. There are X-rays, MRIs that show if it's healing. There are power numbers that get better over time. There are always physical attributes that change. As athletes we're goal oriented," and recovery from injury is motivating. But when that injury is mental or emotional? "This is something I've never gone through. I'm still putting all the pieces together," he says.
Although he didn't want to question his future in the sport, Euser couldn't continue the way he was. A typically outgoing, positive and enthusiastic person, he began to turn dark. "I didn't like who I was becoming. I didn't like it when I spoke to people in a negative tone. It didn't reflect who I've always been," he explains.
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