‘I DIDN’T NEARLY DIE TWO YEARS AGO JUST TO SPEND MY DAYS ON THIS PLANET FEELING UNHAPPY’ – EX-IRISH CHAMPION IMOGEN COTTER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Former Irish national champion Imogen Cotter has announced her retirement from cycling after a two-year battle with the mental and physical scars caused by a horrific collision in Spain.

The 30-year-old cyclist from Clare was hit head-on by a van driver during a training ride near Girona in 2022, derailing her career after just signing her first fully professional contract with new team Plantur-Pura.

Cotter, who won the national road race championship in 2021, told the Irish Independent last year that it was a 'miracle' that she survived the incident, which led to multiple surgeries after breaking her knee cap and her wrist.

Cotter, an accomplished runner who made a late transition to cycling, returned to racing in September of 2022 and competed with the Fenix-Deceuninck Continental team in 2023 before signing for Hess Cycling team at the start of this season.

However, Cotter says the trauma of the collision and setbacks throughout her recovery have taken their toll.

“The time has come for me to announce my retirement from professional cycling! I make this announcement with happiness and peace in my heart,” wrote Cotter on her Instagram page. “I’ve been so lucky with how understanding and accommodating @hesscyclingteamofficial have been throughout this process. Thank you.

"As this season got underway, I realised that racing was not making me happy anymore. It was making me anxious and scared. Many training rides have ended with me feeling the beginnings of a panic attack and I’ve found myself crying at the side of the road on multiple occasions after close passes. I started to wonder, why was I putting myself through this? I didn’t nearly die two years ago just to spend my days on this planet feeling unhappy. We only have one life. That’s when I knew it was time for a change,” added Cotter, who has since become a road safety advocate.

"While I still love cycling and know that it will always be a big part of my life, it has felt near impossible to perform at a level that I can be proud of these last few months. After pushing through setbacks and trauma in the last two years, I am ready to approach cycling, and life, in a calmer way.

"I am proud of a lot of things that I achieved within cycling but the hard work that I have done mentally to make this decision is up there with the best. The fight back from what would have ended most people’s careers comes a close second! Getting my pre-crash power back was something many doubted, yet I did it and more. I can retire from racing knowing that I am unstoppable – but I choose to stop."

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2024-04-15T15:25:27Z dg43tfdfdgfd