Nils Eekhoff’s Road To Recovery: Eating puréed food and dentist visits

“I heard all these cracking sounds, so I stayed lying down just to be safe.”  On January 30th, Nils Eekhoff was involved in a crash and collided hard with a lamp post on stage three of the Alula Tour. He was immediately taken to the local hospital, where it was discovered that the teeth on the left side of his face had been significantly damaged. Mentally, Nils was quick to switch gears: “I was immediately determined to fight back.” How is his recovery going? What is his biggest challenge right now? And what does his path back to racing look like? You can read all about it in this story.

The Crash
“I saw it only at the last moment, and then I couldn’t do anything anymore.” Nils clearly remembers the crash in Saudi Arabia. The peloton was moving at high speed towards the sprint. Nils saw an opening on the right side and began to accelerate, ready to bring the rest of the team’s sprint train forward, but suddenly, another rider ended up in his path.

“I was blocked in. I steered as far out as possible to the right to get around him and ended up hitting the curb. I managed to balance on it for a bit, but eventually, I fell over. Then I saw a lamp post coming towards me.”

The impact was hard and Nils hit the pole with the right side of his head. “I didn’t immediately know what the damage was. I had pain in my jaw, blood in my mouth, and I heard these cracking sounds, so I stayed lying there just to be safe. I didn’t dare move my neck.” The race medical staff immediately attended to Nils and made sure he was safe, before he was taken to a local hospital. It was there that the extent of the damage became clear: several broken teeth and a fractured jaw.

A major setback, but Nils was immediately determined to fight. “At first, you feel like giving up, but then all I thought was: I want to get back as soon as possible.” Lots of messages from colleagues, friends, and family have also given him a boost. “My inbox was quite full. A lot of people had seen the footage, because the crash was visible in the TV broadcast so people were quite worried and wanted to reach out to me.”

Rehabilitation process

The first few days after the crash were mainly about tests and recovery. Nils flew back to the Netherlands the day after the crash and spent the weekend with dentists and oral surgeons. “Everything on the left side of my mouth was broken. The dentist filed a lot and sealed it with wax. One molar was split in half, and one canine was torn horizontally.”

With the extent of his injuries, eating has been a challenge since then for Nils. “I’m not allowed to chew, just eat and drink liquids. The first week, I lived on mashed potatoes, and now I’ve switched to rice dishes, but they all have to be blended. I get all the nutrients in I need, but it’s becoming a bit monotonous without being able to chew yet.”

Despite the limitations, he’s already training again. “Four days after the crash, I started again, but indoors on the trainer. I also bruised my hand in the fall, so it’s better for my hand to train indoors. That way, I avoid the shocks from the road as well.” Alongside training, his days consist of hospital appointments and physical therapy, but he has managed to find other things to do too.

“We’ve just moved house, so I also have time to do some DIY.” Is that a positive side effect of the crash? Laughing but determined, Nils adds: “Well, I would have preferred to be racing!”

Looking Ahead

Although his exact return to racing is still uncertain, Nils hopes to be able to return to action in March sometime. “If everything goes according to plan, it should be achievable but it depends on the recovery of my jaw and the next dentist appointment.” There’s a check-up every week, and only after the next appointments will it be clear if any further procedures are needed.

The situation still requires some patience, but Nils remains positive. “It’s going in the right direction. I’m back in a building phase with my training. Now, it’s mainly about waiting to see how things progress, but I’m doing everything I can to be back as soon as possible.”

One thing for sure is, we’re sure that Nils will be excited to be back in the thick of it when he is ready to do so.