BMX
Sergio Layos' Road to Recovery
Serious injury kept Sergio Layos off a BMX for ten months but now he's back for X Games Barcelona.
After being out injured for nearly a year, Sergio Layos will this week make his comeback at the X Games in Barcelona.
It has been a long hard journey for Sergio to regain his fitness since he broke his shinbone and fibula on July 7 last year. He had been out riding near Montpellier for a video shoot when he failed to land a 360 over a roof. He knew immediately that the injury was a bad one.
The Spanish rider had many reasons to doubt whether he would recover from his injuries. His brother, Ángel, had a similar injury and after a bad operation Ángel couldn’t ride like he used to. Sergio’s operation saw the surgeon put a nail inside his shinbone along with six screws.
Before his injury at 2012 Empire of Dirt
© rutgerpauw.com/Red Bull Content Pool
Sergio focused on recovering as fast and well as he could but it was tough. Problems with two of the screws meant he had to have surgery once again.
“In total I’ve been injured ten months. Occasionally, I tried to ride but I had to stop very soon. It’s been a long recovery and many times I wondered if I could ever be back at the same level.”
Sergio also spent several weeks at Red Bull’s DTC (Diagnostics & Training Center) in Thalgau (Austria) during the winter. There, he worked with physiotherapists and importantly a psychologist who gave Sergio counselling on regaining his confidence so Sergio could be able to ride like he did before.
With the X Games just two days away, Sergio feels good and ready for action as he shows in the video. He’s also rediscovered the pleasure of riding his bike again.
“I know I’m not at the 100% and that I have to be careful, but I’m ready to compete.”