A tenacious teenage cyclist has celebrated being signed to a world tour development team - after spending months recovering from a horror crash that left him unable to get up the stairs. 

In August, after labouring all day in the breakaway group, crossing 70 miles of sweltering Belgian county side, 18-year-old Matty Cole, from Richmond was soloing his way to victory. Two miles out from the finish line and podium, Matty had a 20-second lead on all the other competitors. 

But, with glory practically in grabbing distance, a rain-slick road, an unfortunately placed lamppost, and a roundabout spelled the end of the young cyclist's good day out. Instead of a trophy, he was left with two broken legs and a spot in a Belgian trauma hospital that would be his home for the next ten days.  

The Northern Echo: Matty Cole, a young cyclist from Richmond.

Eighteen weeks of recovery later - five of which were spent stuck downstairs in bed at his parent's Yorkshire home - Matty is back in the saddle, and excited to get training with his brand new pro-tour team, Hagens Berman Axeon. 

Matty said: "After the crash, I spent four days in the ICU in a Belgian trauma hospital and six more days on the ward. The team have been really supportive and patient with it all."

The Northern Echo: Matty Cole, a young cyclist from Richmond.

A strong race, including winning the general classification of the Gipuzkoa Klasikoa 2.1 UCI race in Spain's Basque country, helped Matty secure his spot with Hagens Bergen Axeon. The team, run by Axel Merckx, a former pro himself and son of cycling legend Eddy Merckx, is based in America and Belgium. 

Looking to the future, self-styled all-rounder Matty is hoping to emulate cycling heroes like four-times TDF winner Chris Froome, and road race world champion Mathieu van der Poel, by getting signed to a world tour team.

He's confident he's "on the right path" to achieve this dream at Hagens Berman Axeon - the team is essentially a development squad for Team Jayco AlUla, ranked by UCI 13th-best team globally. They regularly send teams to the grand tours, stage races, and classics. 

The Northern Echo: Matty Cole, a young cyclist from Richmond.

With his sights set on the world tour teams, in coming years, those following Matty's career can hope to spot the young Yorkshireman at the big stage races, like the Tour de France, il Giro d'Italia, and la Vuelta e Espana. 

But for the next few years at least, sights are set slightly lower than the yellow jersey by winning the TDF. 

"The dream really is to go to the world tour teams - I want to do three years in the under 23s and then move up!"

In the horror crash, Matty snapped his left femur in one place, and broke his right tibia and fibula in two places- but he also spoke about the "mental challenge" of going from a super-active lifestyle to being stuck in bed.

The Northern Echo: Matty Cole, a young cyclist from Richmond.

He said: "It’s been weird – I’m so used to travelling and going abroad every two weeks. It’s been a mental challenge as much as anything else. I had to learn how to do things again.

"I was stuck downstairs when I got back to Yorkshire – with the leg breaks, I couldn’t even get up the stairs.

"My parents have been the biggest help. I couldn’t have got back from the crash without my dad, as an ambulance would have cost a massive amount of money.

"Dad ended up putting a bed in the back of his van, and then driving all the way to Belgium to pick me up.

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"It was a ten hour trip back in the van – but I got a McDonalds on the way home, so that’s really why I chose that option, it wasn’t too bad!"

Moving forward from the crash, Matty is back to travelling and training - he'll be Gran Canaria before Christmas, and has trips to Tuscany, Belgium, and the team house in Spain for the new year. 

"I'm picking up my new kit in Belgium soon - new kit days are mint! I'm hoping to get back to racing soon, but the crash has set me back, so I'm just taking it as it comes. I really like the look of next year's Tour of Austria though!"

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