Beyers on the track to recovery

Stellenbosch local Bernette Beyers is on the road to recovery after a crash left her with a broken collarbone at the Glasgow World Cup in Great Britain earlier this month. She continues to stay at the World Cycling Centre (WCC) in AIgle, Switzerland, where she has been training during the 2016 season.

Bernette Beyers is on the road to recovery after her nasty crash at the UCI Track World Cup in Glascow, Great Britain earlier this month. Photo: uci.ch

“My healing process is going very well. As I have never broken anything before, the recovery process is very new to me. I am seeing the doctor in the next week for some new updates,” she said.

Beyers is currently staying at the WCC during her recovery. “My Coach, Scott Budgen, is keeping a good eye on my progress, helping me with training and keeping me mentally strong during this process, while I am still resting and recovering,” she said.

Trying to stick to her training programme as best she can whilst out of full action, Beyers has been spending much time on the Wattbike. She said: “I will do some intervals or just easy riding depending how I’m feeling on the day. I’m in the gym regularly, training legs of course. I do wear a full upper body sling when training in the gym to keep my shoulder in place.

“My exercises are still hard using different strategies to target the same muscle groups as my previous programme. I’m surprised how many exercises you can come up with without using the upper body.”

Beyers’ plan for 2017 is to compete in the World Cups in the United States. She looks forward to the Africa Continental Championships in Egypt next year, and also hopes to make enough points to qualify for the 2017 World Championships in Hong Kong.

Beyers hopes to be returning to South Africa to defend her Sprint, Keirin, 500m and Team Sprint titles at the 2017 SA National Track Championships in April next year.

Keeping a positive mind set throughout her journey back onto the track, Beyers admits it does get difficult. “It’s all part of being a full-time athlete – you can’t expect to never hit the ground (or wood). It comes down to what you make of it. You could do nothing for the next few months and feel sorry for yourself, wanting sympathy from everyone around you, or get up and do something about it,” she concluded.