Lotto Soudal’s Kris Boeckmans “almost died six times” following stage 8 crash at the 2015 Vuelta: reports

Speaking to nieuwsblad.nl, a Dutch news outlet, Lotto Soudal’s Kris Boeckmans illuminated some uncomfortable realities about his harrowing Vuelta crash: namely, that he almost died from his injuries—not once, not twice, but six times. In short, his condition was much, much worse than the cycling community knew at the time.

Boeckmans made the disclosure of his post-crash condition’s full extent during Lotto Soudal’s training camp, where the 28-year-old rider—as opposed to actively training with his teammates—continues to focus on getting back into fighting shape. “I almost died six times,” he said, speaking to reporters. “Today I know how lucky I have been. It was ten times worse than described in the press.”

As observers may recall, that’s saying something.

The crash, as Canadian Cycling Magazine reported, happened during stage 8 of the 2015 Vuelta a España. A 182.5 km haul, it started at Puebla de Don Fadrique and ended at Murcia, Spain, and as many riders had the misfortune of learning, had been the site of several crashes throughout the day. When Boeckmans went down, though, he went down hard. Suffering severe facial trauma, several fractures, broken ribs, bleeding lungs and a concussion, Boeckmans was kept in an induced coma after the severe wipeout, his condition fragile.

With the revelation of just how fragile it was, though, Boeckmans is nonetheless optimistic about getting back into the game as he rejoins his Lotto Soudal squadmates. The process of saddling up again hasn’t been without its difficulties, of course—solid food, reports say, was out of the question for a while—but the Belgian rider has seen a marked improvement as he soldiers on.

“The last few days,” he told nieuwsblad.nl, “I have cycled two and a haf hours and actually an hour with the rest of the team. And I can do it without being completely exhausted for the rest of the day.”

And though the suggested dates of his return keep getting pushed back, Boeckmans is confident.

“The question is whether everything will be as before,” he told reporters. “Frankly, I do not know. But I have already made so much progress it is a good sign. Initially, there was talk of a comeback to competition next December.” Then, he added, that estimated return date was bumped ahead to June, when the Belgian championship kicks off.

“Now,” he said, “they say May.”