HECHT MAKES HIS RETURN TO RACING

Coming back: Hecht makes his return to racing

 

After a terrifying crash in late March, Gage Hecht is back in action this weekend at Dirty Kanza to take on the biggest gravel event in the country, held in Emporia, Kansas, with teammates Lance Haidet and Cade Bickmore. We’re stoked to have Hecht back in Aevolo colors and chatted to the Colorado Classic stage winner about his recovery, new perspectives and looking forward.

 

After your crash, how did you and your coach plan out your recovery?

 

We did a lot of waiting and watching for symptoms. We put off training as long as we felt we needed to make sure that I did not put myself in a dangerous situation. As the symptoms dissipated, we eased in the workload.

 

What did you learn about the recovery process?

 

I learned from everyone around me that giving the injury time would be best. In a way, it was sort of a blessing in disguise. Because I do both cyclo-cross and road, I typically don’t have breaks for much longer than two or three weeks. Even then I am, somewhat involved with the sport. This gap gave me a nice chance to relax and get to take a break from the workload that cycling brings with it.

 

What are you looking forward to at Kanza?

 

I’m looking forward to racing in the dirt. I enjoy the more off-road style of riding. Also, the lack of support, while a bit frightening, carries with it this sense of adventure and excitement. 

 

Goals for the rest of the season?

 

It’s hard to say at this point what my goals will be. It’s going to be dependent on how the race goes and the recovery that follows. It will be a test to see where my form is and give me a chance to analyze what I can do later on in the season. Of course, I’d love to do well at the races I performed well at last year, like Pro TT and U23 TT nationals, but I can’t expect myself to duplicate those performances with the delayed start to the season. I’d love to race in the Tour of Utah again if my recovery takes me there.

 

Anything you want to add about how the incident? What did you learn? What would you want others to know?

 

I am happy with the progress I made so far. Of course, from my perspective, this crash and subsequent injury may not seem ideal, but I think there is a lot of good that will come out of it. I can’t precisely always see what God is doing in my life, but I have the faith to know that he knows what’s best and there’s a lot of joy in knowing that despite life not going the way I would like it to, I can know all things work together for good. In one of his letters to Christians that at the time were scattered around the known world, Peter, one of Jesus’s apostles, wrote about dealing with suffering in life. In this letter, he states, “But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter 4:13