People

Jonny at practices ahead of the Beijing Olympics

When I met Jonny Bellis last year he had the world at his feet.  He was regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the British Academy set-up and had won a number of medals at junior level. He also represented Great Britain in last year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

We arranged to meet at the National Sports centre in Douglas to do an interview about how the Isle of Man was producing such amazing world class cyclists.  Jonny arrived in the latest Italian designer clothes and laughed when I commented on his shoes. 

“I love Italy, and I love the social life there.  You can go and sit in a bar all evening without even having a drink.  There’s no need to drink, you can just sit there with your friends and watch the world go by.

In team GB at the World Championships in March

“Here in the Isle of Man people go out to get drunk.  It’s a different culture. The training in Italy is also great because the landscape is quite mountainous.  Sometimes I train with Mark (Cavendish) because we live close to each other. In Italy cyclists are treated really well.  In England we worship footballers but in Italy it is the cyclists who are treated like stars.  It’s great to feel appreciated.”

Living near Tuscany at the British Training base it seemed that Jonny had achieved something most athletes can only dream of.  He was working abroad with an extremely exciting career stretching out before him.  He recently appeared on the shortlist for the world championships team.

September 2008

On the 19th September Jonny crashed into a wall while riding a motor scooter near the town of Quarrata in Italy.  His friends called the emergency services and Johnny was taken to hospital.  He sustained serious head injuries- more specifically- a fractured skull and bruising to his brain.

Jonny was transferred to hospital Florence where theatre staff were waiting to operate.  He underwent a 3-hour operation to remove a blood clot and came out of surgery in a critical condition.

Jonny’s uncle, Mike Doyle is also the Isle of Man National cycling coach.

“It was devastating news. That Saturday was a long day.  My mother called me to say that my sister, Johnny’s mum was at the airport waiting to get on a plane to Italy.  We were told to get there as soon as possible and not to be too optimistic because it was so serious.

“It was just one of those normal nights.  Jonny said goodbye to his friends and then the accident happened. He was wearing a helmet and of course that helped but apart from that we know very little. 

The good news is that Jonny is now off the life support machine and things are looking a lot better. But we have to take each day as it happens.  Jonny’s dad called me recently and the tone of his voice was much stronger, everyone is feeling much more hopeful.

Jonny Bellis and his Uncle, Mike Doyle

“Shortly after the accident I went over to Italy to see Jonny myself.  At that time the odds were 50/50.  Seeing him there in the hospital bed was quite horrific.  He’s just a young lad and he shouldn’t have been there. 

“However I was really impressed with the medical team.  The surgeons working with Jonny are incredible. That’s down to British Cycling. They have made sure Jonny has the best medical attention in the world. British Cycling has provided an incredible service.

“With it being the Intensive Therapy Unit, visiting times are short so I didn’t have long to sit with him.  Maybe 3 or 4 minutes but in that time I could sense Jonny was fighting the fight.  I could feel it when I touched his hand- I could feel his inner spirit. His heart was racing strong and I knew he was doing everything he could to get himself better.”