Stefan Küng Finishes Time Trial with Busted Helmet, Bloody Face
Yesterday, Stefan Küng’s finish in the Individual Time Trial of the 2023 UEC Road Cycling European Championships made headlines—but not for the reason a cyclist would want to make headlines. The racer crossed the finish line battered, bloody, and with a helmet that was shattered in several places, leaving commentators questioning why Küng was allowed to continue his ride.
Küng was in the final kilometers of the time trial when he veered into the metal barricades set in the road to direct riders around a median. He was catapulted off of his bike, nearly hitting a television crew moto.
Former pro racer Phil Gaimon put it succinctly when he posted an Instagram image of Küng post-crash saying, “I’ve seen a few posts about this and a bunch of folks have sent it to me. I’m not blaming Küng at all for doing what he’s trained for (and his head just took a hit), but there’s nothing inspiring or bad ass about this photo.”
As Gaimon notes, Küng himself isn’t to blame for continuing to ride. The CDC explains that even with a mild concussion or traumatic brain injury, a person may not recognize or admit that they are having problems. Küng was able to get up, get back on his bike and continue riding: He may have not realized the extent of his injuries at the time, between the confusion that can come from a concussion as well as the post-crash adrenaline and shock he was almost certainly experiencing.
And so, the question becomes: Why was Küng allowed to continue riding with clear head trauma? According to GCN, Küng was met by his team car as well as race officials and was allowed to return to racing, where he finished 11th.
In reality, his broken helmet is arguably against UCI regulations and shouldn’t have been allowed. As per the UCI:
“During competitions on the road, a rigid safety helmet shall be worn... avoiding any manipulation which could compromise the protective characteristics of the helmet and not wearing a helmet which has been undergone manipulation or an incident which might have compromised its protective characteristics.”
If he had crashed again, that helmet wasn’t going to do much good.
Today, it was confirmed that Küng did in fact suffer a ‘mild concussion’ from the crash into the barricades, as well as a fractured molar bone and a fractured hand. To be clear, a ‘mild concussion’ simply means that someone lost consciousness for under 30 minutes after a head trauma. As Headway.uk points out, only 10 percent of reported mild head injuries/concussions involve a loss of consciousness. So most concussions are considered ‘mild’ in nature. This does not mean that there will be no long term effects, or that his head injury wasn’t significant or should be taken lightly.
Unsurprisingly, Küng will be ending his season early. Hopefully, this incident triggers a hard look at concussion protocols within teams and by race organizers in the future.
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