Michael Torckler

Michael Torckler
Personal information
Full name	Michael Torckler
Born	12 April 1987 (age 37)
Team information
Current team	GD Pringle p/b Spoken Cycles
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-rounder
Amateur teams
2008	The Southland Times–Trek
2009–2010	Azysa–Conor WRC
2012	PureBlack Racing
2016	Trust House
2017–2018	Blindz Direct
2019–	GD Pringle Building–Spoken Cycles
Professional teams
2011	PureBlack Racing
2013	Bissell
2014	Team SmartStop
2015	Team Budget Forklifts

Michael Torckler (born 12 April 1987) is a New Zealand cyclist, who currently rides for New Zealand amateur team GD Pringle p/b Spoken Cycles.^[1]

Career

During 2012, Torckler was staying at Santa Rosa, California to train for upcoming competitions. On one of his training rides, on 30 June, he was hit by a car coming around a bend. He was thrown off his bike and hit the car windshield, breaking his arm and almost killing him.

The driver fled the scene but was later caught and was sentenced to 10 years and four months in prison. Meanwhile, Torckler was airlifted to the nearest hospital, where he arrived in critical condition,^[2] close to death. Although he was not brain damaged from the accident, he had no recollection of the accident. He was immediately moved to intensive care, and was discharged after only 12 days.

After returning to New Zealand after only a month after his accident, Torckler was back on his bike and starting to train again. After four months, he returned to racing at the 2012 Tour of Southland and finished the race in 61st place. Known as 'King of the Comebacks', Torckler raced in the Tour of Utah, and even won the King of the Mountains title.

In November 2014 Torckler was announced as part of the Team Budget Forklifts line-up for 2015.^[3]