Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy sends ‘get well’ video message to cyclist, nine, after he suffers head injuries when he hit a pothole on 100km charity ride
- Bailey Searle had been cycling near his home in East Grinstead, West Sussex
- He was fundraising for Children with Cancer, Cancer Research, Royal Marsden
- Boy suffered concussion and memory loss, as well as a gash to his forehead, bruising around his eye and cuts to his face and neck
- In video, Sir Chris says: ‘Maybe I’ll see you at some point when you get back on your feet and hopefully back on two wheels again’
Sir Chris Hoy has sent a get well video message to a young cyclist who suffered horrific injuries after he hit a pothole.
Bailey Searle, nine, was taken to hospital to be treated for head injuries after the accident near his home on Saturday.
He suffered a concussion and memory loss, along with a gash to his forehead, bruising around his eye and ‘road rash’ – abrasions caused by his face and neck coming into contact with debris and grit.
The youngster was doing a 100km charity ride at the time of the accident near East Grinstead, West Sussex, and his mishap caught the attention of Sir Chris.
Video shows how a recovering Bailey, surrounded by his family, was played the message from the former Olympic champion.
Nine-year-old Bailey Searle was concussed and suffered memory loss after hitting a pothole while doing a charity bike ride. Above, he is surrounded by family as he listens to the surprise message
Bailey was delighted to receive a ‘get well’ video message from Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy (right). The athlete told him: ‘I’ll see you at some point when you get back on your feet and hopefully back on two wheels again’
Bailey had been on a 100km charity cycle ride near his home, in East Grinstead, West Sussex, on Saturday when he had the accident. He ended up with a gash on his forehead, bruising around his right eye and abrasions on his face and neck
Sir Chris says in the clip: ‘Hi Bailey. It’s Chris Hoy here. I just wanted to send you a very quick message to say how sorry I was to hear that you had a crash on your bike.
‘Bad luck mate and I was super impressed that you were going to do 100k for charity and that is a huge challenge.
‘I’m sure you would have achieved it but these things happen and I hope you aren’t feeling too sorry for yourself.’
He added: ‘I popped a little something in the post that will hopefully put a little smile on your face and maybe I’ll see you at some point when you get back on your feet and hopefully back on two wheels again. So rest up, take care and keep smiling.’
Sir Chris – a six-times Olympic champion – had seen the pictures of Bailey’s injuries which were posted online by his family. They said the fact he was wearing a helmet likely saved his life.
The champion athlete captioned his response: ‘9 year old Bailey had a nasty tumble at the weekend doing a 100km charity ride. I’m sure the cycling community would all like to send him a massive get well soon.’
The boy’s mother, Hannah Searle, posted an image on Twitter of the helmet (right) he was wearing, to highlight the importance of wearing appropriate head gear. She said that it ‘literally saved his life’
Bailey was raising money for the Children with Cancer charity, Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden hospital – inspired by the treatment a cousin suffering from cancer had received.
His mother, Hannah, shared the pictures to Twitter on Saturday to show the importance of helmets, captioned with: ‘Today was Bailey’s ride. Sadly didn’t go how we wanted. Hit a pothole and the ride was over.
‘Thank god for his Louis Garneau helmet. It literally saved his life. Nine years old.’
The images show a white helmet specked with blood, and a dent; another shows Bailey in a head brace just after the accident and one side of his face looking extremely bloodied and damaged, due to the fall.
One person responded online: ‘What a legend you are, Bailey. Carry on with your mission and thank you for all you’re doing to raise money for cancer charities. What an incredible nine year old. Your parents must be so proud.’
Another wrote: ‘Bless him. Helmets are just superb in these situations. Remember one saving me when I headbutted the kerb coming off on black ice. Give him a big hug from the cycling community.’
Click here to see Bailey’s fundraiser.
Hoy retired from professional cycling in 2012 but remains a spokesman for the sport. Hoy grasped three golds in Beijing and three on home soil as part of the GB cycling team at London 2012. (He is seen above winning gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympics)