Lizzy Banks (Ceratizit-WNT) has been suffering from a concussion since crashing at Strade Bianche in March. The 30-year-old finished the race but began to experience symptoms afterwards and has since been recovering at home in Sheffield.
Concussions in sport have been a prominent issue in recent months as scientists strive to understand the long-term effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) on cognitive function. The UCI’s concussion protocol has also brought to light the importance of head injury care in the sport.
"Lizzy crashed at Strade Bianche and suffered concussion and has been out since, recovering. We’re not putting any pressure on her for when her next race is as we want to make sure she is fully recovered, which is first and foremost the most important thing," Banks’ Ceratizit-WNT team told Cyclingnews.
Banks posted an update to her Instagram feed early in May stating that she was slowly getting better and thanked those involved with her recovery for their support.
"Still slowly tapping away at fixing my brain. It's a long and slow slog and it's had its seriously challenging moments, but for now I'm happy (and hugely relieved) to have made some really good progress and start to see light at the end of the tunnel. There's still a lot of work to do, but I'm getting there, slowly! I will be back!
"Thank you again to British Cycling and Ceratizit-WNT who have both been truly amazing throughout this. I really don't know where I'd be without the support, knowledge, advice, patience and encouragement from both organisations and for all of this I'm truly grateful.
"It'll be a little longer until you see me at the races unfortunately and until then you can find me riding very slowly around my beautiful playground in the Peak District. So lucky to have this peaceful spot on my doorstep. The perfect place to allow mind and body to recover."
The British rider has made significant progress since joining her first pro team, UnitedHealthcare in 2018. Last year, she won her second Giro Rosa stage, the longest in the race, and took second place at the Women’s WorldTour race GP Plouay.
Banks also recently appeared in an episode of The Bunnyhop series on Youtube where she discussed her route into cycling and her ambitions within the sport.
