Video: Bernard Kerr's Brutal Crash from Red Bull Valparaíso Cerro Abajo Urban DH 2022

Feb 28, 2022
by Ed Spratt  

Bernard Kerr looked to be getting up to speed on the Valparaíso urban DH course but ended up missing finals after a massive crash in qualifying.

The incident happened on one of the main stair sections of the course where riders tackle a very tight and technical challenge that leaves very little room for error. It looks like Bernard Kerr was caught off line on the stairs but it appears he was able to walk away mostly unharmed, although he did decide to sit out racing in finals.


We have reached out to Bernard to find out more about the crash and we will update this article when we know more.

Posted In:
Racing and Events Videos Injuries Bernard Kerr DH Racing


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93 Comments

  • 289 0
 i broke my collar bone just watching this.
  • 39 25
 He can focus on his recovery now and take a rest from social media
  • 2 0
 same
  • 1 2
 @RedBurn: i like that
  • 189 5
 Probably hit a kerrb
  • 12 1
 Kerrunch!
  • 12 1
 Kerrmageddon!
  • 4 0
 Kerrang!
  • 3 1
 speechless haha ohh my nailed ... hehe
  • 137 1
 These urban races always seem so sketchy
  • 38 2
 Yeah, and it's only concrete and rails to land on. Scary!
  • 9 0
 @WoS: Makes me feel like a bad rider because I can't even see the lines before they're hitting them... just a crazy environment to ride in, especially at speed.

I think about the landings, too... I ride a fat bike on my local trails when they're snowed/iced over, just a lot slower. Sometimes a fat bike crash is a funny, slow motion thing, and you've got layers on and snow to soften the blow... sometimes it's a lightning fast eat shit even on ice. Hitting a sheet of harder than rock ice when you expect to be deep in a corner really, really sucks... I can't imagine the corner of a concrete stair. And I used to be a BMX/street kid... speeds where a lot lower, and I was lighter then.
  • 62 3
 @Glenngineer: I guess your BMX background isn't strong enough.
  • 1 0
 I know right? Exciting, but a super bad idea!!
  • 3 2
 Not to mention a bunch of them are in less-than-developed countries. I'm assuming on-site medical support is pretty good, but for anything serious, you might have to fly a ways away.
  • 1 0
 @HankDamage: village boys don't have BMX or skate parks at last here or anything you could do with that street. Better get a dirt bike...
  • 2 7
flag anothermtnbiker (Mar 1, 2022 at 18:38) (Below Threshold)
 Yeah I think this is so dumb. It’s just supposed to get you hyped, same thing with downhill. Why do people get excited over crashes? I shake my head watching these videos. I hope Bernard Kerr is okay but I bet he’s reevaluating his life right now. Mountain biking is WEIRD now I just ride for exercise and fun now. And sometimes I don’t even have that much fun to be honest. Maybe I’ve outgrown it. I’m 24 and will probably ride till i can’t anymore but I’m not going to wig out on it. Pinkbike and vital are just a bunch of propaganda.
  • 65 1
 I know these races provide an off season chance to race, and nobody is forced to race...but geez this is sketchier than Rampage.
  • 19 51
flag sino428 (Feb 28, 2022 at 9:50) (Below Threshold)
 Is it though? He fell riding down a bunch of stairs. As with almost any track, the real danger and sketchiness lies in how the riders ride it, not the course itself. Its stairs, most decent mountain bikers could navigate that just fine. But doing it at pro race speed like he was is a different story. Just listen to him talking about it at the end of the first video, talking about over shooting one set, then casing the next, etc. The courses themselves aren't necessarily dangerous. Pushing the limits of the course like pro riders do is the dangerous part.
  • 39 1
 @sino428: I think we're saying the same thing sir.
  • 12 44
flag sino428 (Feb 28, 2022 at 10:08) (Below Threshold)
 @preach: Yea I don't consider rampage sketchy. Its massive and dangerous but all the lines are clean, dialed, and well thought out by the riders who built them.
  • 14 2
 @sino428: the wind and exposure at rampage makes it sketchy
  • 6 3
 @sino428: wow yeah I bet you know EXACTLY what your talking about… freakin genius
  • 4 12
flag sino428 (Feb 28, 2022 at 18:45) (Below Threshold)
 @Maxwrbike: not my fault people can’t read. I didn’t really say anything controversial.
  • 14 6
 @sino428: yeA I dOnT CoNsIdEr RaMpAGe SkEtChEy
  • 43 0
 Road riding is dangerous.
  • 30 0
 Bernard is one of my favorite racers, love the racing content, hope he heals fast, Urban DH scares the shite out of me.
  • 1 0
 was looking forward to his 2022 racing lsd this year - hope he isn't in too bad shape
  • 7 0
 Agreed. I don't care if I sound "old", that shit is a bad idea and I don't think DH pros are showing good judgment doing that right before regular DH season...
  • 3 0
 @mybaben: after watching his training vids from California, with a trainer, etc. for a 'best ever' 2022 race season, I was kinda surprised to see his entry into this race....
  • 1 0
 @jokermtb: Yeah, I love Bernard too, and I want him to kill it this season! But, not the best thinking signing up for this one...
  • 19 0
 Take note kids: arms in, chin tucked
  • 3 0
 Genuine question: He goes down slightly sideways there and takes the hit on his shoulder, so I can see how not putting your arms out there works. Does this still work if you're going straight over the bars and going head first towards the ground? It's something I wonder about every so often (normally while exiting the front door unexpectedly).
  • 5 0
 @Woody25: Head first to ground - try to tuck and roll out as much as possible - like a somersault.
  • 3 0
 @neimbc: fascinating to watch experienced road racers crash, too. Mark Cavendish recently went down in a middle east race. He tucked his arms to his body and rolled like he was doing the "stop, drop, and roll" we learned as kids if we were on fire. Seemed to come away unscathed.
  • 1 0
 I think it depends on the ejecting rider angle of trajectory. If Cav went OTB but on a flattish or even slight decline and at the speeds typical in road racing he'll have the gravity and space to roll out. If its tech riding, downhill, rock slabs that vector is going to be much more vertical, with less opportunity to roll.

Rolling has saved my life and limbs many times - I credit doing several years of aikido when I was young with instilling that skill - but it hasn't been 100% foolproof. Took a OTB hit on my shoulder last summer and broke collarbone and ribs, there was no chance of rolling.
  • 15 0
 @twozerosix: Thank god for your aikido background
  • 2 0
 Always tuck and roll
  • 34 20
 Urban dh is lame and dangerous. Happy to hear he’s seemingly ok.
  • 13 0
 I have to say seeing Bernard's Youtube Channel of him and the boys on the endless DH trails in Chile - A proper DH course in those mountains needs to happen.
  • 5 11
flag Biologybossman (Mar 1, 2022 at 1:29) (Below Threshold)
 Just because you're too much of a limp cuck to ride it doesn't make it lame, ffs.
  • 4 5
 @Biologybossman:

You’re right, the cool guys huck stairs…

Urban is lame, whether I’m a limp cuck or not.
  • 2 1
 @nvranka: hucking stairs was a single section of that course, which you would probably shit your pants if you had to ride, there's some gnarly shit in urban DH
  • 3 3
 @Biologybossman: not sure why you’re focused on what I can or can’t do. Doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme, urban DH is lame.

I never said it couldn’t be gnarly…I can think of plenty of things that are gnarly and lame.
  • 2 0
 @Biologybossman: lol I just watched the POV of the winning run, you honestly think this is cool? I don’t get it man. Help me understand.
  • 1 0
 @nvranka: I think we've obviously just got different points of view on this, at the end of the day it really doesn't matter. I do apologise for being rude and inflammatory with my initial comments, it was a bit much
  • 1 0
 @Biologybossman: I’ve been guilty of the same many times. All G.
  • 10 0
 Jamie Goldmans crash comes to mind as well - urban DH is all fun and games until you realize the potential consequences for crashing. Gnarly.
  • 8 0
 Speedy recover to Bernard. Racing down concrete stairs gives me nightmares.
  • 8 0
 The risk vs reward ratio for these urban DH races always seems way out of proportion to me. That was gnarly, glad he was OK.
  • 6 0
 Man, that was big. Hopefully he's full go in a few weeks.
  • 2 0
 Franz Grossman still recovering from a horrific urban DH in Puerto Vallarta in 2017... was in a coma 6 months or so and he still chronicles his efforts to recover under his Elic.White instagram. Inspiring but scary as well. Hope Bernard is OK. Hope Franz gets back to 100%
  • 6 0
 No boi
  • 4 0
 Killing oneself for a little bit of money and adrenlin is abetter then killing oneself for adrenalin only
  • 2 0
 Well, I think I found my limit .... this is a fail video that I choose NOT to watch. It's hard enough to watch urban DH when they don't crash!
  • 6 2
 why would he even risk his actual race season doing a stair race?
  • 6 4
 Exactly. This shit is pretty dumb actually...
  • 7 2
 @mybaben: How is it dumb? Urban DH is some of the gnarliest racing around, it just doesn't appeal to you, but it clearly appeals to enough people for them to have a race series of it.
  • 1 0
 @Biologybossman: I say that just from a safety factor. As you say, it's some of the gnarliest racing, AKA super dangerous.... Concrete, asphalt and brick is very unforgiving.
  • 2 0
 Ouch! I had that crash taste in my mouth and the ringing in my ears from the POV footage.
  • 3 0
 Wheels are hella strong these days.
  • 4 1
 Looks like the front wheel is pringled but you cant see it proper.
  • 6 2
 @konastab01: "Looks like" "Can't see it"

OK
  • 2 0
 damn... glad he seems to be ok. He said something about those stairs in the previous video. Not a lot of room there.
  • 1 1
 The hell are these meatbags doing, racing in a giant deathtrap? Kudos, but you could never pay me to fly down stairs barely wider than my bars.
  • 1 0
 Hope he's OK, as he was gearing up for a real good run at the World Cup this season.....
  • 3 0
 Stair set of doom?
  • 1 0
 Sam Pilgrim woulda won this race....
  • 1 0
 Fox 40 for sale, slightly caved in stanchion but doesn't affect performance. Damn that fork to rail impact!
  • 4 2
 Nope
  • 1 0
 Did he clip his handlebars or just get off line?
  • 2 0
 he cased it a little on a stair double, then got kicked slightly off line, and then it happened again and boom....on a trail it wouldn't have even been an issue....
  • 1 0
 Both, but I couldn't quite see which came first.
  • 2 0
 7/10
  • 1 0
 Dammmmmnnn- savage that! Glad he’s ok...
  • 2 0
 i died watching it
  • 1 0
 I mentally hurt myself watching
  • 1 0
 Why take the stairs when you can take the elevator?
  • 1 0
 Bad crash, but could have been so much worse!
  • 1 0
 800mm wide bars. 680mm wide stairset. What could go wrong?
  • 1 0
 Jeez, how didn't he break anything... Guy's made of steel!
  • 1 0
 I thought he was a professional
  • 12 12
 Yea thats gonna be a no for me dawg...these urban races are dumb.
  • 1 0
 your dumb
  • 1 0
 Heal up Bernard!
  • 1 0
 oof poor bernard
  • 1 0
 He hit the BermHard ,,,
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