Vader 'having to relearn everything' after Basque Country crash

There is good news on the injury front as Jumbo-Visma rider Milan Vader has been allowed to go home after three weeks in the hospital. The 26-year-old suffered constriction of his carotid artery, among other injuries, and says he is "having to relearn everything," according to a post on his Instagram page.

Vader fell over the guardrail during stage 5 of the Itzulia Basque Country and tumbled down a grassy embankment. Among his injuries was a fractured vertebra, broken collarbone and fractured shoulder blade. However, the carotid artery constriction was the most serious and required immediate surgery to place a stent and ensure blood flow to his brain.

"The past three weeks have been very insecure for me and the people around me," Vader wrote. 

"The team and my family always kept good contact and we are super happy about this process," he wrote before giving an update on what happened.

"I crashed hard in [Itzulia] and ended up on the intensive care in Bilbao with fractures all over my upper body. The most critical at that time was that I also had some vein related problems, so my brain was limited time without oxygen," Vader wrote.

"I’ve been kept under anesthesia for two weeks to give my body time to recover as good as possible. I don’t remember anything from the day I crashed until I woke up two weeks later. So I’m awake since a bit more than a week now. 

"I basically had to learn everything from zero again. Also walking took some time. I’m super lucky to 'walk away' from this after this crash. In the meantime I’ve been transferred to the Erasmus hospital in Rotterdam where different specialists had a look on my fractures. Turns out I’m good to leave the hospital tomorrow [Saturday, 30 April] and work on my further recovery at home."

Vader thanked his followers and credited the support of his family, friends, team and the race doctor of the Itzulia Basque Country who was the first to attend him and recognize the seriousness of his situation.