Concussion Takes Marco Osborne out of the Last Two EWS Rounds

Sep 21, 2018
by Pinkbike Staff  
We just got word from Marco Osborne that has chosen to sit out for the last two EWS rounds of 2018 because of a concussion he suffered after Whistler.

bigquotesI haven't missed an EWS start in over two years, so missing these last two rounds really hits hard. I know it's part of the game and that my health comes first. With that said, I'm just looking forward to getting healthy and back into the mountains playing bikes. Marco Osborne


While this is obviously a tough decision for Marco to sit out and he will be missed on course, everyone here at Pinkbike would like to offer Marco our support. It is great to see young riders taking the health of their brain so seriously and we hope to see him sending it for many years to come.

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35 Comments
  • 18 0
 Nothing hurts more than a floggin' to yer noggin'! I had a stack recently and went to hospital to assess my concussion. Thankfully i was fine...except the broken rib.
  • 15 2
 > While this is obviously a tough decision for Marco

I hope it was an easy decision, your health is more important than riding bikes.
  • 10 3
 It's never easy for any athlete not to compete, chances are that if you can walk away easily, then you're probably not that good (I'm great at walking away). I know for a fact that Marco has raced through some gnarly shit in the past, so it is good he's not doing that here.
  • 4 21
flag thesharkman (Sep 21, 2018 at 16:23) (Below Threshold)
 Thanks for the lesson, mom.
  • 8 1
 I still have post concussion symptoms from 2 years ago. Not fun. Heal up Marco. ????
  • 6 1
 Same, increased recollection time, forgetfulness, it all sucks. The brain is not to be fucked with. Smart dude for taking as much time off as possible to heal. I just moved from a normal trail and fullface lids to a 6D's half shell and fullface. Try and mitigate any future gray matter injuries.
  • 2 0
 @daugherd: 6D supposed to be the mutt's nuts. Incredible stories from motocross about concussion prevention.
  • 9 1
 @daugherd: Good on you - however, I would offer a word of caution on putting so much faith in the 6D helmets. I have seen no independent research to prove they are any better than anything else out there - the only independent research I saw was by Virginia Tech and a Bontrager lid won in their rankings (6D weren't tested there). That research does state that a MIPS liner or similar is definitely worth investing in. That's not to say the 6Ds aren't decent helmets, I've never used one, so can't say, but they are not proven to be objectively better, to the best of my knowledge.
  • 5 6
 Scientific studies are all we got. Unfortunately universe teaches us they are often not enough. Especially when random accidents of highly varied nature happen. I would never trust MIPS in anything emse than a not that ventilated FF. Mips in Bell Super, TLD A2 and Fox Proframe (I oen two of these and have seen one in person) is a fkng joke. If for any reason a thought comes to your head: “ I can send this, go faster today, I have MIPS/ MIPS like thing after all”. Don’t.

Bad luck is a nothing you can avoid. But strength training, practicing skill and looking deep inside your fears and feelings to step up your mind game are the best investments you can make in your health.
  • 3 0
 @WAKIdesigns: Why is MIPS in those 3 helmets you referenced a fking joke? curious what data you have that we don't.
  • 3 2
 @stikmanglaspell: because in those helmets it is a net? Whereas the model MIps propagates all over the place is a shell? Does the sticker itself do the job? How do you go around vents being gripping points for the helmet? Along with softer shell material around? Can you present me a data of rotational acceleration of a dj pisspot with hard shell vs typical inmold helmet? Size of the helmet itself? How about a rather firmly placed visor on proframe vs fragile visors of most helmets out there? How about heavier d3 like mips equipped helmets rotating forward under the load of the chin piece and visor because all that keeps them well in place is rather pad in the back of the head and goggles? So after a hard landing you can end up helmet on your eyes. I bet BMX racers told you a thing or two, many of them now have to train in goggles. Some messages from folks training in Cali?

What data do you want to present me then? I’m sorry am I thinking too much compared to a regular client? You can stuff them with the yellow sticker as a mean to increase your sales, but quite a few people aren’t buying the story. That is all I am saying.

Because if the sticker makes them sleep better at night, feel more confident on the trail, well that is worth more than crooked science. Same sort that adds DH certficate to proframe yet... why are people using rampage pro? I mean the stickers match don’t they. Those helmets are identical according to the science, why are dh racers opting for rampage pro. Makes no sense what so ever...
  • 1 0
 @mattwragg: Keep your Bontrager foam hat, and I'll put on my head the helmet motocross racers don't die while wearing.
  • 2 0
 @kmg0: Problem with motocross helmets is the weight and that they're designed to withstand higher impact speeds. Yes they work great but my experience with them (Arai VX Pro) resulted in a very sore neck.

I now own a Kali Avatar 2, I find the weight easier on the body which means I can ride for longer

@KaliProtectives have written some interesting articles on the subject too
  • 3 0
 @Blackers: Most motocross accidents happen at 10-35MPH so its really quite in the range of bicycle speeds in downhill trail riding. I think the 6D is really reverse engineering a solution to the fact all "motorcycle" helmets must have DOT but that is for highway speeds against pavement, not 30 mph end over end dirt naps. Yadig?

The 6D *are* a pound heavier than most other brands, and bigger. But I'll take it. I believe that is why Bell came out with their "Flex" helmets in the past year. Midspeed impacts aren't stopped by DOT helmets at all.
  • 2 0
 @Blackers: Those Kali look good!
  • 1 0
 @mattwragg: the problem is that the anvil used in those tests simulates polished concrete in the skatepark at best. The best test rig I have seen was made by Bell. And they got hated for the lack of dh certificate for Super 2R. For the rig bell made one could simulate real world conditions.
  • 5 2
 Why PB isn't mentioning this was at the Northstar California Enduro Series race I don't know considering the coverage on PB itself. For those who didn't see the pic of his helmet post crash his decision makes 100% sense. All of us from the CES wish you the best! reviews.mtbr.com/marco-osborne-helmet-destroyed
  • 3 2
 Looks like the visor was the only part that broke. I'm not discounting the severity of the crash, however. I've taken some gnarly hits to my downhill helmets, and they look really good aside from deep scratches
  • 1 0
 @Mntneer: "I went about 40 feet out and 25 feet down to flat onto my head and rolled a bunch of times on to rocks ” Don't disagree there is many ways to cause that kind of damage to helmet but his description certainly makes it sound like he took a large impact to his head directly from the crash as opposed to sliding.
  • 4 0
 @norcal101: Yeah, I witnessed the crash and I can say it was absolutely the worse crash I've witnessed. I honestly was super surprised to even see him walk away from it.
  • 3 0
 Sensible. I hit my head pretty hard a month ago, rode the rest of that day feeling fine but only suspected mild concussion when I got home that night (slightly dizzy & confused). 5 days later thought I would be OK to ride and "What's the chance of hitting my head again?" First run back out, front wheel hangs up on a steep turn, big over-the-bars, hit my head even harder and took a lot of skin off my palms and a suspected scaphoid break. Had to take over 2 weeks off the bike in prime season and also right before my BC trip. Fortunately feeling 100% again and now sitting in Squamish but it really wasn't worth it to get back out so soon after the first crash, or even to keep riding on the day of the first one. I'm one of those people who used to read comments like this one and think "Yeah, whatever" but this stuff is no joke.
  • 5 0
 Stay up Marco, your health before everything!
  • 5 0
 Way to make the right call Marco!
  • 5 0
 Good call
  • 3 0
 Yup. Good call. Been there
  • 1 0
 Heal up young man! There is a lot of trails that need to be ridden and no one season can make them all happen. Hope it goes well for you.
  • 3 0
 Smart choice, Rand!
  • 2 0
 Safety first!
  • 2 0
 Heal up!
  • 4 4
 Was in northstar not whistler
  • 8 2
 "After."
  • 2 3
 This is a serious issue in mountain biking that is about to tear its head.
  • 1 2
 well in mountain biking concussions are self inflicted compared to other sports like tackles from other people in football and rugby so really nobody is to blame except the dude who cant stay on his bike







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