Video: Emotional haka welcomes Keagan Girdlestone home to NZ after horror crash

Keagan Girdlestone, the Dimension Data development team rider who nearly lost his life after a horrific crash at a race in Italy in June, had an emotional homecoming when he returned to New Zealand as pupils from his former school performed a haka in his honour at Christchurch Airport.

Pupils from Christchurch Boys’ High School performed the traditional Maori greeting as Girdlestone came through the arrivals hall, being pushed in a wheelchair – although he got to his feet as they continued the routine.

The 19-year-old sustained injuries including a severed carotid artery and jugular vein when he crashed through the rear window of his team car when it braked sharply during a descent as he sought to rejoin the group during the Coppa della Pace in Emilia-Romagna.

Initial reports in the Italian press and on social media , swiftly corrected by his family, were that he had lost his life.

> Girdlestone severed vein and artery in horror crash, says management

There was a well-known cycling fan on the flight – ex-Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso, who a couple of years back was rumoured to be starting his own team, though nothing came of that.

Girdlestone, whose brother is a pro cyclist with the Drapac team – their father was also a professional rider – moved with his family from South Africa to New Zealand several years ago.

One person who saw his arrival, Colin Corbett, wrote on Girdlestone’s Facebook page: “I work at chch airport, and I was lucky enough today to be witness to your arrival from the international lounge. That welcome was truly awesome, very stirring and clearly very heartfelt.”

He won’t be returning to the family home just yet – as he explained in this article on Cycling Tips last week, he has “a long road to recovery,” and on arrival was due to be transferred to a hospital in Christchurch.