STARTING POINT
Where the rider was before coaching
David had a bad cycling accident in March 2025. The kind of crash that doesn't just leave a physical injury — it takes the bit of you that wants to ride.
He was struggling to get back to the same level. Numbers down, confidence down, and — the part most coaches miss — the enthusiasm to even start the sessions was draining away. That's when riders quietly walk away from the sport.
INTERVENTION
What changed
David joined the Not Done Yet coaching community four months before he wrote his testimonial. The intervention wasn't just a training plan — it was a structured comeback. Plan first, community second, accountability third.
After a crash, the worst thing you can do is try to pick up where you left off. The right thing is to rebuild gradually, with structure that respects what your nervous system has been through, and a community of riders who know exactly what a bad crash does to your head.
WEEKLY STRUCTURE
What the training week actually looked like
We don't publish David's exact week. The principle for any post-crash comeback is the same: re-establish easy aerobic volume first, reintroduce structured intensity gradually, and never run intensity ahead of confidence on the bike.
Inside Not Done Yet, that means a personalised TrainingPeaks plan, weekly coaching calls so the plan adjusts to how the week actually went, and a community of riders — most of whom have come back from something — to keep the comeback from feeling like a solo project.
NUTRITION & STRENGTH
The pillars under the bike
After a crash, two things tend to slip: nutrition (because motivation is low and meals get sloppy) and strength (because the gym feels like the last thing you want to do). The Roadman five-pillar approach addresses both before they become the thing that stalls the comeback.
The strength piece matters here. Heavy strength training — the kind Olav Aleksander Bu and the Norwegian-method coaches keep coming back to — is one of the cleanest ways to rebuild durable power without putting the body through repeat hard rides it can't yet absorb.
OUTCOME
The result, in the rider's own words
Four months in, David's testimonial is direct: "I've got my mojo back and I'm really enjoying riding again. Just signed up for my first race this coming Tuesday."
The headline outcome isn't a power number. It's that he's racing again. The training matters because it produced the confidence — not the other way around.
THE NUMBERS
Before / after
From the athlete's testimonial and TrainingPeaks file. Where a number isn't published, we don't list one.
Time to first race
Lost mojo4 months
From struggling to back on a start line
CAVEATS
What this case study does not claim.
- Every comeback is different. Four months is fast. Some come back in two; some take a year. The variable is the crash, the body, and the headspace — not the plan.
- We don't have David's pre- and post-crash power numbers in his testimonial. The win we're reporting is the return to racing, not a specific FTP delta.
- Coaching can rebuild fitness and structure. It can't undo a crash. The mental side — and any required medical or physio support — sits alongside the training, not under it.
- Comebacks need a community. Riders who try to do it alone often quit. Part of why David's comeback worked is the Not Done Yet group around him.
COACH COMMENTARY
Anthony on this case
After a bad crash, the bike becomes the thing you avoid. The instinct is to push through it. The right move is the opposite — rebuild slowly, get the head right, and let the racing be the proof of the comeback rather than the test of it.
The other thing that surprised people is how much the community piece mattered. David didn't just need a plan. He needed riders around him who knew what coming back from a crash actually feels like.
Four months from "losing enthusiasm" to "signed up for my first race" is what coaching is for. It's not just the watts. It's the structure that makes the watts possible again.
— Anthony Walsh, Roadman Cycling head coach.