One of the most famous stories of the Bible is that of the lost son, beautifully depicted by Rembrandt, by the way. The lost son leaves his family, spends his entire heritage but is still welcomed back with love into his father’s arms years later.
You could apply this story to Keagan Girdlestone, albeit without the profligate spendthrift theme. He left the cycling family and didn’t touch a road bike for many years. Now he has returned, with big ambitions for returning to the pro ranks and, maybe, even a shot at starting the Tour de France.
“God has given me this talent, so I want to use it to have one more go at pro cycling,” he said after announcing his comeback in an Instagram video early December.
The story of Keagan Girdlestone’s long and winding relationship with bikes began in Pretoria, South Africa. His older brother Dylan, who turned pro, was motor pacing behind their dad. Keagan, only eight years young, wanted to have a go at it.
“We had this circle road around a park,” Keagan says, going back in time. “I think I had my mum’s old road bike. My dad beckoned me to come over after they finished their session. We started at a pace of 22 kilometers an hour, but it quickly went over 30 kilometers an hour. That’s pretty fast for an eight-year-old! I was sitting on in third wheel and my brother was behind me. I started crying because I was in so much pain. Dad keeps going faster and Dylan asked why I was crying. I gasped that I was in so much pain but wanted to ride with him. We went even faster and then I literally physically collapsed. I was lying on the side of that road and dad came up to me. He said: ‘Now I know you have a little fire.’ And me? I only wanted to do it again,” he ends with a smile.
From that moment, Girdlestone went on to become one of the best juniors of his generation, with success in acclaimed French junior races like Valromey and Ronde des Vallées in 2015. He took fourth place at the junior time trial World Championships. A transfer to Dimension Data Continental team followed in 2016. The South African started well with a stage win in the Tour of Good Hope, but disaster struck in the Coppa della Pace, Italy in June of 2016. He should have been dead, is what he told Matt De Neef in 2023 about the harrowing accident that severed his carotid artery and jugular vein.
Amazingly, he came back. It was six months before he rode a bike outside again, but in January of 2017, he returned to racing. But the next season, a different kind of setback arose: severe post-traumatic stress from the crash, which ultimately spelled the end of his racing and led him to pursue an acting career. But even as Girdlestone thought he’d left the bike behind forever, it had not left him. This summer was a turning point.
“I worked in a bottle (liquor) store in Melbourne to support my acting career. I would ride a kilometer to the station to take the train to work. That would be 15 kilometers or so. That day I missed the train. I oversaw opening the store so I would be late if I took the next train, so I rode on, onto Beach Road in my trainers and a big puffy jacket. I passed a lot of people in full gear on carbon bikes but more importantly I felt something again riding my bike. I felt I missed this. That night I got home and watched stage one of the Tour de France from start to finish, something I hadn’t really done in years either. I cried because I remembered that feeling of racing your bike so well again. I wanted to be back in that atmosphere of a bike race.”
An epiphany on wheels
While watching the Tour, he says, “I remember I had a conversation with God and then it hit me. I said: ‘God, I believe You gifted me with this talent. Maybe You took it away for a while to make me appreciate what I also had in life, but that gift is still there. If I am good enough to be back, You will make it happen.”
He moved back to Christchurch, New Zealand from Melbourne and started training. Fast forward in time and the fire he experienced as an eight-year-old on that circle road is back. Aged 27 the now-New Zealand national aims for a comeback.
Girdlestone is open about his belief in Jesus Christ. One of his mottos in life comes from Paul’s letter to the newly founded Christian community in Philippi in ancient Macedonia. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).
His prayer this summer is linked to one long ago, which he now thinks is part of his path to this moment. “The night before my crash I prayed, ‘God, I want to show the world how strong I am.’ At the time I was meaning in the race because I had a terrible start to my European campaign [breaking his wrist in Coppi e Bartali] but God answered my prayer when I survived that crash. Now perhaps this comeback is also linked to Him answering that prayer.”
He draws great strength from the Bible and his prayers but seven years after his last race in France, it’s not only about believing. Cycling has changed tremendously in the years that Girdlestone was away. He starts again with an innate talent but with zero fitness but also with zero resources.
“I got back on the bike, and I told my dad that I wanted to give this one more crack. I had the bare minimum. I am still rocking my old-school rim brake bike. I was at a race the other day and couldn’t slow down because who even needs brakes.”
He says it with a smile, but the reality is that a comeback is mentally and physically challenging. It also poses financial problems.
“Luckily, I didn’t give away all my kit and other stuff because it’s everything that I’m using right. My bike. My shammy. All 10 years old. I am broke, right? But I’m not just broke money-wise, I’m broke time-wise and broke resources-wise and broke in every aspect of things. I am putting myself up against guys that are paid. This is their full-time job. They go to train when they go to work. I train before work.”
I see the scars in his neck move when he speaks, a little more when he is emotional. I wonder how strong you must be mentally to start all over again. To Girdlestone it’s all about faith.
“If I make it back, I want that to be a testimony to what Jesus Christ can do. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus challenges Peter to step out of a boat on a stormy lake (Matthew 14: 24-34). Jesus assures Peter he can walk on water if he believes. Of course, he is scared but he does it nonetheless. His eyes were on Jesus. They weren’t on the storm and his situation. His eyes were on Jesus. For me every day is now about getting out of that boat again.”
The work begins
Even with faith you need a body and legs that work. The early beginnings of proper training back in July were not easy, Girdlestone explains.
“I would just do laps up and down Beach Road (Melbourne). I started out doing an hour and a half, then two hours. I was standing at work and my legs would throb and I was thinking ‘What am I doing? My body’s completely forgotten what cycling is.’ It took a good three weeks for the muscle memory to kick in.”
This was all in July when he was also inspired by the Tour de France. It’s the same feeling he had when he was a child and watched the race. That is the big goal, being at the start line of the biggest race in the world. But first things first. The immediate goal is New Zealand nationals in February. He is rational and knows that the sport he left in 2016 is a completely new one.
“One thing that I’m starting to notice in my own training, what everyone’s been talking about is, the nutrition side of things. I think that’s been insanely advanced since I used to ride. I mean, I was looking back to my old rides, and I used to eat a few muesli bars and a banana. I am still getting used to the intake of carbs. Then there is the training itself. My dad stopped coaching many years ago. He still coaches me, but his knowledge is outdated, and times have changed so fast. I now incorporate all these new things like fatigue resistance training, good old intervals and adapting to top end aerobics, so riding at the top end of my aerobic zones. When I made a comeback after the accident back in 2016, I needed about six months to reach where I was before. I am now at four and a half months so well ahead of schedule.”
Girdlestone is a man with his heart on his sleeve. His acting career dipped into the creative side of his personality. He could have chosen a silent comeback where his name would just appear on the start list and maybe no one would notice, but he chose a more theatrical approach with a video on his social media channels.
“I can’t believe how well it’s been received. I’ve received close to 1,000 messages in the comments and just people reaching out to me. I was very anxious when I posted it, but I guess it’s the sort of pressure I need. I said in the video the national championships are the first test so I’m just using that as my litmus test because I think my ego wants me to be there. I also want to win,” he smiles.
“I am also realistic because there is only so much progress you can realistically make in that amount of time. It’s never been done before but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. It’s blown me away how quick my body has adapted. I still have that ability push myself. If God wills it, I have the strength.”
The first comeback came shortly after the accident. It was too soon. His body didn’t work along. High blood volumes past the stent in the severed carotid artery could be dangerous but Girdlestone also needed extensive therapy for post-traumatic stress. Six years later he is a grown man. Technically his recovery will always be ongoing, but he is ready both physically and mentally.
“Scar tissue gets hard and sturdy. I am not worried anything will happen. I had this conversation with God. If I’m going to die, I’m going to die. I know where I’m going, it’s fine. I have been halfway there,” he says with a soft expression in his eyes.
“Every day is now about getting better and stronger. What can I do to optimize my recovery, my training, my nutrition, my sleep, my mental health. Not every day is a good day, and I can beat myself up about it but then I think about that boat in the storm. I have to take that leap of faith again, like Peter did. I think this journey will go where it needs to go. I’ve fallen in love with riding my bike again. That is the first step. Whatever else happens, is a bonus. If it does not work out, I will have had a good time doing it anyway. Trying to find that spark back again was the biggest leap of faith I could have ever taken.”
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