Fahringer crosses to gravel after two years of concussion setbacks

Pro cyclist Rebecca Fahringer has carved a new corner to steer towards her 11th pro season, this time on a fresh path laden with gravel, some single track and stable health.

In the last two seasons, the cyclocross stalwart suffered multiple concussions that sidelined her burgeoning career, where the 2019-2020 season saw her scoop up a career-high 10 victories. That season she earned a trio of World Cup top 10s, the bronze at the Pan-American Cyclocross Championships and a silver at US Nationals. Then came the bumps in the road, or rather, hard impacts from the ground and the coronavirus pandemic.

A new focus off-road and with competition in the Life Time Grand Prix series this summer got her back on the bike and on the podium. She also “learned how to embrace the spirit of gravel”.

“It's been an emotional roller coaster because when I first started this [Life Time] series, I was still experiencing pretty extreme concussion symptoms from last cyclocross season,” Fahringer told Cyclingnews at the series finale in Arkansas at Big Sugar Gravel. 

“I was very disappointed for the first two races. And then I realized, oh, you can have fun on a bike without being fast on a bike or without winning the bike race. Everyone's ‘fast’ is different than the winning speed, right? Yeah.”

She admitted to being a bit tentative at Sea Otter Classic in April in Fuego 80K MTB, but she finished 17th in the Life Time standings. Then a bout with COVID caused her to miss Unbound Gravel, so she focused on the remaining four series events. She was consistently in the middle of the pack, referring to the mountain bike events as “survive, not thrive”, her best finishes 13th at Chequamegon MTB and 14th at Big Sugar Gravel. She didn’t finish in the money, which was the top 10 for the invitation-only series, but she knew she could race again.

Just a week prior to Big Sugar, she competed in Belgian Waffle Ride Kansas and took the victory. She was back on track, but not in the discipline that she loved most. Cyclocross races remained off her schedule for 2022-2023.

“So, I missed cyclocross with the entirety of my heart, and I hope to do more of it next year when I'm in better physical and mental shape and emotional shape,” said Fahringer, who is still supported in all disciplines by her Kona Maxxis Shimano team.

“I am not jumping into CX racing right away. Kona, like many other bike manufacturers, has taken a step back on the cyclocross front for a while and didn't produce new Jakes (their line of CX bikes). No new bikes to highlight means the team's focus was pulled from CX and into gravel. It worked out for me because my health has not been ready to jump back into CX. 

“I still do feel some concussion symptoms at the highest heart rates, which impairs my vision and decision-making skills, and this combination is, like, 90% of cyclocross. In addition, I really don't want to concuss myself three years in a row, so health is being put on the forefront of my still-mushy brain as I choose to sit this season out.”

Far from race ready

Rewind to 2020 and Fahringer had big plans coming off her most successful cyclocross season. The coronavirus pandemic struck and US races were cancelled, so she headed to Belgium. In her second race of the season, Superprestige Merksplas, she crashed hard headfirst on a descent. She then missed the next two races to allow her back, neck and her brain to recover. She finished the season with just two top 10s across 22 races.

In the 2021-2022 season Fahringer never made it to Europe. She hit the repeat button, not intentionally, with a crash in her second race, this time at GO Cross in Virginia, and hitting her head. “I got a lot of yellow lights and a few green lights, but no one put the red light on racing,” she noted on her blog. Lingering headaches and bouts of disorientation were her companion across 10 more races, and she did see a concussion specialist.

“I was hoping for some sort of brain scan to tell me I was normal or to decide that I was most definitely not normal and then to get fixed by some magical procedure. But instead, I got this soft, wishy washy, ‘yea I guess you are still concussed go ahead and do nothing and hope that it gets better’. 

“I stopped doing anything. I did nothing. No screens, no reading, no TV, no riding or running, no driving, no hiking, no alcohol, no hanging out with friends. I did NOTHING.”

Days turned to weeks and she did not race Nationals in December last year, or make any attempt at chasing points. Instead, she fought an uphill battle with continued concussion symptoms of anxiety, depression, and brain fog. She did make a surprise appearance at the World Championships, motivated to compete for the rare US venue that February, but the finish was not what she was used to - 28th instead of top 15 from two seasons prior.

“In the past two years, I just limped along with concussion symptoms on and off and never fully recovered,” she explained to Cyclingnews. “Last year I skipped Nationals and European races due to my concussion. I still will be missing these races again this year due to various factors - health, motivation, resources, etc.”

Back on track

While her foray into mountain bike races with the Life Time series was “disappointing,” she rebounded with the unexpected victory at BWR Kansas. The progression proved her health was almost back to normal. She also regained enthusiasm for racing, especially with gravel and other adventures. And it was fun to ride and to win again.

“Hopefully, a good rest period will set me on track for like great fitness next year. A good physical recovery so that I can start with a fresh slate, remember that I'm capable of winning bike races and be strong,” she said.

“I think I'll do more gravel, maybe a few gravel series, mountain bike races, and then maybe be able to kind of balance the season with a little bit of cyclocross.”

In just a week's time, cyclocross races will be in Merksplas for a Superprestige round. She may watch from afar and misses the action, but still does not want to risk another brain injury. Instead, she focuses on new challenges.

“The BC Bike Race [July 3-9, 2023] is something I would love to dip my toes into, and hopefully a few Grasshopper events [Low Gap begins series January 28] to get warmed up for some single-track racing! I would for sure love to do more proper mountain biking but will be returning to some gravel favourites like Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder, and getting redemption at Unbound and hopefully throwing my hat in the ring for a proper go at Leadville 100.”