The serious crash a year ago couldn’t defeat her, but tempered a stronger self! Sports influencer Lin Yi-Ling (aka Eva) endured an operation in her left knee and a lasting rehabilitation before gifting her the first race as a return at the World Masters Games 2025 Taipei & New Taipei City in Women’s Cycling Road Race-Criterium-30+. The stage of return took place today (26th) in the rain today (26th), and she finished top with 26’14”, declaring her comeback with the first gold medal after rehabilitation!
“Everyone says you have to fall to win gold,” Eva said on the podium after finishing the race, laughing. With this simple sentence, she talked about her persistence and the price she paid along the way. Eva admitted that she just wanted to prove to herself that she couldn’t be defeated by that crash last year. “‘I’m not giving up the upcoming races,” Eva said. “I’m going for three gold medals!”
The memory of the accident a year ago is still vivid to Eva. In June 2024, a fender bender with a truck made her fall when she practiced cycling on Route 9 (Beiyi Highway), in which she hurt her ligament in her left knee. She underwent an operation on her left knee in August and resumed her training in November. Due to the crash, her plan to prepare for the World Masters Games with a one-year schedule was abruptly cut by half a year. No complaints were heard; instead, she gave her all to make up for the time lost, and even practiced much harder by taking it up every day right before the event. Trying to catch up with the national cycling team athletes, she rode 1,500km per month. She cut 6kg of fat at one point before gaining muscles back. She laughed and said that she’s stronger now than before the crash.
She rose from the injury and pain, tuned herself step by step, regained her speed, and retrieved confidence. “I wanted to see how far I could go,” Eva said. “People’s impression of me online is that I am more of a recreational rider, so I wanted to push my limits through the World Masters Games. I’m also encouraging everyone that you don’t have to be a professional athlete to get admirable results. As long as you keep practicing, you can reap well and be stronger.”
Eva still has Road Race and Time Trial to participate in, and she said her goal is to win three gold medals. “It’s an international standard (course) after all,” Eva said. “I wouldn’t be able to experience it in recreational competitions.” She’s willing to share her experience with more people, so she hired a camera crew to film a documentary after the car crash. She hopes the upcoming races can present a happy ending so that she can motivate people and promote cycling with her own story.
