Cycling is a sport where unfortunately tragedy happens on a frequent basis, however frequently it is because of training or racing crashes. But outside of competition, the athletes are also regular humans and disaster can happen at any time. For Uno-X Mobility‘s Simon Dalby, this almost happened recently when the Danish rider suffered two blood clots in the brain, and his life was potentially saved by his parents’ quick action. The team issued a statement on the 22-year old and shortly after Feltet.dk spoke to Rory Nolan, team doctor who was update with his rider’s health situation. “Simon noticed some weakness in his arms while eating with his parents. They immediately took him to the local hospital, where doctors found two small blood clots in his brain,” he explained. “The treatment was started right away, and he felt almost normal again soon after.”
Dalby is a rider who has been part of the team’s development program since 2022 and turned pro this year, finishing sixth at the Tour de l’Avenir last year, 10th at the Tour of Oman back in February and second at the Course de la Paix in the spring – where he took a stage win too. He is an important part of the Norwegian team and a strong talent in development. But the team is lucky to have been able to move on past this tremendous health scare with Dalby.
“Two blood clots in the brain are of course serious, but it could have been much worse,” Nolan admitted. “His parents responded immediately, and he received treatment without delay. That was absolutely vital in a situation like this”.
Doctors try to understand why this happened
It is no surprise as to why it is so serious, but time is absolutely key when handling blood clots and even if it would’ve been resolved, it this had happened hours or days later, it could’ve had much more significant consequences for Dalby – who ultimately emerged out of the situation with the best case scenario.
“If a clot isn’t removed quickly, it can affect movement in the arms or legs, speech, or cognition, depending on which part of the brain is affected. It’s still early in the process, but his prospects look positive. We’re now focusing on finding out exactly why it happened,” he concluded.
Dalby won a stage at the Course de la Paix this year. @Imago