Amaury Pierron Sustained a C5 Vertebrae Fracture In Lenzerheide

Jun 16, 2023 at 9:23
by Christie Fitzpatrick  
THE PILOT
Photo: The Pilot / Sleeper. Not from Lenzerheide 2023.

Amaury Pierron fractured the C5 vertebrae in his neck and underwent surgery after a crash in Lenzerheide. He sustained the injury in practice, got checked out, and rode qualifying with the injury before pulling out of semi-finals to preserve himself for the rest of the season. That's when he got X-rays and the fracture was discovered.

After a great 2022 season taking the overall title, Pierron suffered a tough start to his off-season training. After breaking his collarbone and undergoing surgery for that, he worked hard to fully heal and train before getting between the tape for the first World Cup. This isn't his first serious injury either. In 2021, the Commencal racer was airlifted from the French Cup downhill race, where he sustained injuries to his kidney, liver, and lung.


Team Manager Thibault Ruffin gave FullAttack more details in an interview above. He describes the fracture as "quite complicated" but says surgery went well and that the operation was done by one of Austria's leading surgeons. He also agrees that organizers should be obligated to have MRI or X-rays more readily available on site, like in MotoGP.

Amaury Pierron, Henry Kerr, and Ben Cathro all sustained spinal injuries at Lenzerheide in a sobering reminder that this is an incredibly dangerous sport. Stay safe out there!

We're gutted for Amaury, and wish him the best on the road to recovery.

Author Info:
christiefitz avatar

Member since May 21, 2017
104 articles
Must Read This Week
Review: 2023 Transition Smuggler - The Little Ripper
47965 views
A Closer Look at Haven Mercer's Mechanical Automatic Transmission Concept
43553 views
Slack Randoms: String Drive Bikes, Hydraulic Press Crank Arm Tests, Peter Sagan's Finale Crash & More
41827 views
KS Release LEV Circuit Wireless Dropper Seat Post
36303 views
7 Takeaways from the UCI's 2024 Rule Changes
35332 views
First Look: The $865 Push SV8 Coil Shock
32651 views
It Looks Like 'Snow Biking' Could Earn a Rainbow Jersey & UCI Ranking Points in 2024
29138 views
First Look: Last Bikes Glen and Coal - One Platform, Two Bikes
29053 views

123 Comments
  • 166 3
 Maybe its just a coincidence, but it seemed to me like the Lenzerheide track was particularly dangerous and caused a lot of injuries. I can't help but think part of that is due to the trend (I think pushed primarily by organizers, not riders) to make the tracks shorter, faster, and straighter. Lenzerheide seemed to have a weird combo of high speeds into janky sections, which from and outsider's perspective, seemed to cause a lot of crashes. I know I'd prefer to watch racing on tracks with more corners and technical sections slightly slower speeds, as you get to see more of the riders' bike handling and more separation between riders. There seems to be a belief among race organizers that tight racing = better for audiences, and there is an obvious appeal to the 'nail biter' races decided by fractions of a second. However, whenever I see a non-rider connect with downhill, its always a jaw-on-the-floor run like Danny Hart in Champery or Sam Hill in Val Di Sole. Seeing a rider put a big margin into the best in the world often seems to be more exciting than 5 riders on the same second, where the audience can be left with the impression that everyone did a very similar run. You're not always going to get huge margins, but having that possibility is exciting. The other thing is that enduro races are often on tighter, slower (arguably safer) tracks, with much more race time, and still end up being tight races. All of this to say, I think you could make the tracks a bit safer by slowing things down a touch and adding more turns without compromising the broadcast.
  • 41 0
 I think the broadcast would be more fascinating showing far more tech
  • 16 0
 Would give you 100 upvotes for this comment if I could Wink
  • 4 0
 @GawiQ: I will upvote him again for ya.
  • 5 36
flag markcorrigan (Jun 16, 2023 at 13:02) (Below Threshold)
 Sorry but this is mostly rubbish. The tracks aren’t any more dangerous than any double black run you’ll find in any bike park across the world. It’s high level of risk/reward that the riders CHOOSE to take that’s the dangerous part, are you suggesting a speed limit so the rider’s safety are protected?
  • 20 0
 @markcorrigan: it’s not the difficulty of the track it’s more the speed. A lot of the riders have been saying especially at top half of Leogang that the track looks good but it needs a tight corner or 2 to slow them down into some sections.
  • 21 0
 @markcorrigan: we had quite a debate about this last year in the comments..they don't have FIS ski races in the trees and jank...they set the courses to "control" max speeds and jump airtime. My opinion is that slower courses could be set...add more big turns...and be just as exiting. Crazy dangerous what top level mtb racers do and they get paid pocket change to do it for our entertainment.
  • 11 0
 The whole trend to build trails more open and more high speed only lends itself to greater chance of injury. Make things tighter, chunkier, and pumpier will make for a true test of of technical riding without increasing the risk of severe injury.
  • 17 0
 @markcorrigan: I'm not suggesting a speed limit at all, and I recognize that riders are choosing to take those risks. I am suggesting that there is a way to design tracks that would reduce speed in high risk areas and mitigate some of the risks to an already dangerous sport. Racers are going to put it all on the line, it is the job of organizers to ensure the unnecessary risks are mitigated as best as possible. If you make a track shorter, straighter, and cut the number of spots to make finals, times are going to get tighter and racers are inevitably going to push harder and take more risks to achieve results. To clarify my position a bit, I'm not saying that you should get rid of the fast ski runs on Mount Sainte Anne. The track design and terrain call for riders to go 70+ kph and we don't see a lot of crashes there. I'm suggesting features like the g-out onto the road in Lenzerheide (where both Kerr and Cathro broke their backs) should be reconsidered and corners could be added to slow things down. Although there were no major crashes, features like the blown out, off camber left turn onto a narrow wooden bridge gap seem unnecessarily dangerous. The broadcast showed multiple riders an inch from edge of that bridge (Coulanges was one I think). Losing a wheel over the edge would've resulted in massive crash down onto the road below. If you put a chicane in before that bridge and slow speeds down, racers will push just as hard, but the consequences of a mistakes will not be as dangerous.
  • 4 1
 @eblackwell I believe same than you there. That came with the new "sponsors" and with a total lack of knowledge of DH. They think that DH is just about faster and for faster mean higher and longer straight lines, not technical. It can force the riders to take the shoot in those lines and make higher speeds. When the riders see many of them deciding the race in less than 1 sec than mean that there is not much to improve, sometimes is just luck when going over the limits, that's not safe, even when DH it's already a very dangerous sport. I hope the riders and teams start to give the feedback and the UCI and "sponsors" take their words very seriously.
  • 3 0
 @fabriciofracchia: There was just, an hour or two ago, a clip from some press event released on UCI MTB's Instagram, with Iles commenting on track safety. In it he agrees that some improvements have been made compared to last year such as the track markings/ taping, but that there's still a lot to do, while things are heading in the right direction. Would be interesting to see the full conversation (if there was more to it), but no idea where it's at.
  • 8 0
 @donimo: Watch the Fox Dialed episode from a day or two ago, they asked 10 or so riders what they’d change about the track and almost all of them said they would slow the upper portion down.
  • 2 1
 Guess what? Leogang is twice as FAST
  • 7 0
 @eblackwell: My thoughts exactly.
Downhill should not be motocross or Giant Slalom skiing.
Super tech courses are far more interesting to watch even if it's not what looks better on TV for the MTB -uneducated viewer.
  • 2 0
 so true. good examples too.
  • 3 0
 What tracks exactly are we taking about when we talk about this new trend of shorter, faster, straighter tracks?

Every year the schedule is largely the same tracks they have been running for years. Val di sole, Vallnord, Ft William, MSA, etc. Even Lenzerhide has been on the schedule for like 7 years now.
  • 3 3
 @markcorrigan: I tend to agree with you on this. No matter what you do to the track these riders at this level will it right on the limits. They will always be on the edge of ‘too fast’ no matter what the terrain looks like.
  • 3 0
 @markcorrigan: youre right that the riders are taking high levels of risk and riding right on the line. Theyre racing, thats how that works.

What youre missing though is that course builders can put in features, usually turns, that cause everyone's speed to come down in order to make the turn. So yes in a way its protecting riders from themselves. Crashes are going to happen, but force increases multiplicatively with velocity. Riders are less likely to be seriously injured when they crash.

This is common in every racing sport, someone else mentioned skiing, and its very obvious in motorsport.

A course's intended speed is absolutly a design factor just like any individual feature on the track. Same thing happens on normal trails, im sure you have had the experience that a trail has a certain speed where it flows best and makes the features work.
  • 1 0
 The ultra long, slack trends gets you these types of tracks.
  • 2 2
 @pink505: it’s not for out entertainment. It’s because they want to ride and push limits to be the best they can be. I agree that they should be paid well but don’t confuse the motives.
  • 1 3
 @pink505: so basically you’ve just said that DH mountain biking needs to be more like skiing. Terrible argument
  • 1 0
 @vtracer: amen
  • 3 0
 It seems like there was a lot of shit going wrong in Lenzerheide. The timing system did fail multiple times. In qualifying the clock just didn't stop after some racers had already crossed the finish line. Just kept running. That might also be the reason why some racers didn't qualify for finals.

Also the track itself: The broadcasters need all the tracks to shorter and faster for their own convenience, which absolutely sucks.
  • 1 0
 @eblackwell: true, its hard to gauge speed on tv anyway instead we should get more tech instead of high speed sections
  • 1 1
 @markcorrigan: I am suggesting the pro MTB DH racers insist on a greater attention to their safety as is obvious at any top level ski race. The old ski race tracks are still bat shit crazy but they have tried to tone it down so that the best skier wins not the skier willing to take the biggest risk doing 120kph off a blind jump turn and ending their ski career the time they miss it.
  • 1 1
 @mikedk: WTF are you talking about? This whole circus exist solely for our entertainment, the riders are the circus animals and the UCI is the ring master
  • 39 3
 This guy is unreal. The documentary about his second WC overall win revealed just how dedicated he is to winning.

I can’t help but feel thought that he needs to take another season off to fully heal.

He’ll then come back and take the overall again 2024 somehow.
  • 48 0
 The on-site medical support sounds so amateurish, the dude did quali first, then, went to hospital just for the peace on mind only to discover a crazy serious injury. I love the sport but hearing this makes me feel I’m endorsing a gladiator circus.
  • 6 0
 @catalanfc: That isn't uncommon to find a neck injury where you think there is nothing. I agree though the DH should have it's own dedicated A&E truck that's as big as the team trucks.
  • 1 0
 @bikes-arent-real: agreed. Sucks it wasn’t caught right away but it happens, particularly with neck injuries. Sprained my neck when I was a kid playing football, had no pain so finished the game, next morning I woke up barely able to move and then it was discovered at the hospital
  • 1 2
 @catalanfc: dude 50% of trauma assessment is symptoms not signs. What do you want them to do, have a mobile full body CT scanner on site?
  • 6 0
 @JohanG: I do believe that’s what our Aussie friend is getting at. No reason why some sort of quick care can’t be brought in with all these new marketing dollars. Oh wait but the welfare of the riders would have to be considered so nevermind…
  • 47 25
 The guy is obviously super talented and pretty much unbeatable on a good day. But let's be honest. His kamikaze approach to racing was realistically never going to work out in the long term. None of the other guys who frequently finish in the top 10 are as much and as often out of control in their race runs as he is.
  • 27 3
 yeah but when he's on, he's on. not to forget he gave us the undisputed #1 run ever in Les Gets, 2019.
  • 38 6
 The words "Cautious Downhill MTB Racer" makes no sense.
  • 32 5
 The term "kamikaze" does not do justice to the talent and riding skills of one of the greatest of all time. The thing is that Amaury Pierron wants to win so bad and at all times that eventually things go wrong.

We all know that DH is a sport in which a small mistake can result in a big injury and theres a very thin linebetween winning a race or fracturing your spine.

This guys are on the limit. And that might exactly be the definition of a kamikaze - but you can't blame a top athlete of trying too hard to win. That's what makes them great.
  • 12 0
 @aug7hallak: I think what @Muscovir was suggesting is riding at 99.9% is going to result in injuries while a guy that can ride/race at 99.5% is going to be much better in long run even if a bit slower....I'd agree with him. We see it in a lot of other sports too, like MX, durable athletes that ride within limits are better over long haul. Some guys are always injured other rarely get hurt.

That's taking nothing away from Amaury - he's proven to be one of the best and takes risks, but riding on the edge all the time is going to catch up, is what it is, good or bad.

He's fun to watch and entertaining that's for sure!
  • 9 0
 @oscartheballer: all racers play with a level of risk, but there are levels to it.
I've been saying this for years, it seems to me that Amaury has one of the highest risk tolerances of the entire field.

Watch the runs of riders such as Loïc Bruni or Troy Brosnan and count how many times they're on the very verge of crashing compared to the average Amaury run
  • 11 4
 He doesn't have a "kamikaze approach" IMO. He's 100% commited and takes risks, which is the purpose of every extreme sport. He looks kamikaze because he is pushing the limits in a very spectacular way, for winning, 'cos at this level winning is the only goal.
Bruni is definitely wiser and more mature in his approach, and it often paid off: super fast yet clean and smooth, strategically not pushing too much during trainings and qualies (albeit...)

FYI, and "even if it's road biking", Gino Mäder, 26yo, killed himself yesterday in a dangerous descent on a competition in Switzerland. This is terrible; he was also pushing the limits, not as a kamikaze but as a commited athlete, a superb athlete BTW. It is so f*ckin sad.
  • 5 7
 What's the point of committing half ass to a race run?
  • 12 1
 Kamikaze is used rhetorically people. I love the man, but it's a valid point. Dude needs to find 9.5/10. Full on wins races but also fractures spines.
  • 6 0
 @catalanfc: he's kind of the James Stewart of mountain biking. He wins or crashes trying.
  • 4 3
 @oscartheballer: the riders who can consistently win over and over again avoid injuries. Look at Gwin’s or R Atherton or Minnar’s winning years. There were faster riders those years, but they all crashed out.
  • 7 2
 @danstonQ: bottom line he has an unsustainable approach. Even when he won the overall last year it was miraculous he was able to put down runs between spectacular crashes. That makes it all the more exciting, but it seems it can only go on for so long
  • 3 0
 @drummuy04: was just thinking that same thing
Bubbas statistics for crashing or winning are insane! Would love to see what the stats are for Amaury and what the percentage is for wins if he doesn’t crash
  • 3 1
 @danstonQ: no one here is implying that he is literally taking his runs as a kamikaze as in having a death wish, but rather that he seems willing to take more risks and walk the line than other competitors
  • 3 1
 You'll find there is a man racing today who is 37 years old and was Kamikaze in his youth. Worked for him.
  • 1 2
 @dthomp325: Nah Gwin was on the edge and he held onto it, over and over. His runs were wild.
  • 1 0
 @stormracing: I think it would be better than Bubba. Amaury wins or is on that podium a lot!
  • 1 0
 @drummuy04: Still nice to have the nick name "Fastest Man on the Planet"
  • 2 0
 @bikes-arent-real: Hill and Stewart overlapping in there carriers was really fun to experience. Can't wait to see him in semi's and hopefully finals. Fingers crossed for a full mudder. Sorry, had to do it.
  • 1 0
 @muscovir "out of control" - really? I don't see that.
  • 1 1
 This. His approach to racing isn't sustainable. No one in the top 20 is injured as frequently as he is. There was a possibiliy that Amaury Pierron wouldn't even have been last years overall world cup champion despite winning like 4 world cup races. If he would have crahsed out of the Mont Saint Anne race, Finn Iles would have won the overall. Knowing how Pierron rides, this was a real possibility.
  • 21 1
 Why is no one considering the new schedule for what appears to be the highest rate of severe injuries at a single event? I understand that racers are making there own decisions but it's hard not to believe the lack of track time to get up to speed before qualifying is putting pressure on riders to push earlier then usual and it's biting them in the ass. They'll eventually change their process for getting up to speed and the ones who figure it out first will benefit the most. Hate seeing so many riders get taken out first race of the season most likely due to scheduling, just my take. It also appears practice has alot more people running down the hill (could be wrong) but not sure if something changed there or not.
  • 5 0
 I’m curious to see if semis cause injuries to raise too as riders are incentivized to go even faster and take bigger risks on their second race run to improve their position in the finals, all while being more fatigued.
  • 14 0
 From video interview: "you can't wait for the worst to happen."

Safety protocols are LONG overdue for MTB events - they need to make it happen now. It's negligence on the organizer's part.
  • 3 0
 Agreed
  • 2 0
 Yeah like Eric caught a missive loose rock to go otb and flat onto the road, she was one of the first riders down for the racing and that rock should have been moved by then
  • 17 2
 Heal up AP! Racing isn't the same without you.
  • 2 1
 Hum........ true Smile
  • 24 13
 Ridiculous that he wasn't checked properly and was allowed to ride qualies witha broken spine.
UCI, you have to really up your game and protect the riders from these unnecessary risks!

Also: All the best to Amaury!
  • 22 5
 Not sure how that is the UCI's fault? Bet he didn't even see the race medics just by his own team. Others easily got to hospital to get checked, he didn't go because it was too hard to do but because he didn't want to.
  • 5 2
 @steveh951: any evidence for these claims? Just saying that Thibault has a good point: MRI or X-rays should be more readily available on-site, as with MotoGP. The sport is already quiet dangerous as it is and extra security measures wont hurt.
  • 4 0
 I have had a few friends that have had spinal fractures and they didn’t realize how bad it was until they got an X-ray a few weeks later.

Hope he heals up quickly
  • 5 0
 @pastaman23: this - we are 100% at the point where on site X-ray should be possible.
  • 2 2
 @pastaman23: any contrary evidence? As I said he probably didn't, the big guys very, very rarely visit the onsite medics at world cups I've been at or worked as part of. If tyey had an inkling he'd broken his back he'd have gone to the hospital.
  • 9 0
 Commencal does not have a good track record when it comes to rider safety - they did let PomPom ride with a concussion. Wishing both riders a speedy and full recovery, hope to seeing them back on the race tracks soon.
  • 1 0
 @mtbman1980: Ben Cathro said the x-ray found an old fracture he didn’t know he had.
  • 2 0
 @pastaman23: yeah but MotoGp (and Supercross) are big money sports. Lots of sponsorship, lots of spectators who are willing to actually pay to watch their sport. Having medical personal on site is feasible but not sure it's that easy to have MRI's. The race schedule is tight and I'm guessing AP just figured he has a sore neck/whiplash until he did the qualy and realized he should check it out. Kinda like the average weekend warrior who stacks. Should there be a protocol that makes it mandatory for everyone who crashes at a WC DH to have a battery of tests?
  • 2 1
 @pastaman23: Haha on-site MRI, this guy has no idea what he's talking about. He's just trying to shift the blame from himself and his team's bad decisions (again).
  • 1 0
 @chmurka3rg: I'm not suggesting a full-on on-site MRI, that wouldn't be realistic. But a more cohesive concussion protocol (at least!) would definitely not hurt!
  • 1 0
 @steveh951: Spouting unjustified claims out there isn't gonna help anyway. You are not part of his team nor do you know him, so there's no reason to suggest what you are saying.
  • 8 0
 Seems like the sport needs to really look into the kinds of risks required to be competitive and reconsider course design with rider safety in mind. I hate seeing major injuries, I hate seeing THREE spinal injuries at one race.
  • 5 0
 When someone finally dies they will stop to think about it, make some small change and carry on
  • 3 0
 Yesterday someone died in the tour de Suisse (rip).
They (the riders) said they shouldn’t have the stage finish on a dh. Organizers need to always err on side of less and more for the riders safety.
  • 8 0
 Neko's surgeon runs around on weekends with mobile diagnostics at GNCC races.
www.instagram.com/orthodawgsc

You'd think mega-resorts would have that equipment too.

I think Snowshoe does.
  • 3 0
 Yeah a lot of Patrollers are also trained paramedics for the rest of the year. You'd think they'd be hiring them for the WC.
  • 1 0
 @bikes-arent-real: when I ran races, the resort we held it at was like:
"Have the local fire department & EMT's do a fundraiser & training seminar that weekend."

So the F.D. shows up, has a cook out to sell food to raise funds for the fire department or a charity of their choice in town, they teach CPR & livesaving techniques, bring a "fire" trailer that is educational & they take kids through a simulated house fire in it.

When we held them, there definitely wasn't an ortho on site to diagnose & treat but because it was in conjunction with the resort, the Search & Rescue, EMTs, etc who worked the ski area in winter, all came out to work it and/or update their certifications & get hours.

Surely, any resort these days capable of hosting a World Cup would have a connection to get someone on site.
  • 6 0
 Yeah Amaury ist one hell of a Rider. He ist often on the Edge i think loic and loris Look so much more in Control, but when Amaury puts it all together he is tuff to beat. The Season without him sucks I like this crazy guy. So much good vibes in his documentary. Hope he gets well soon and can go for it next year. Want him in the mix vs loic,loris and the young guns. So best of luck and get well soon Amaury
  • 7 2
 Seems spinal injuries are becoming more & more common recently. I wonder if neck braces will soon start appearing again. Suprised Cathro rides without one for a start.
  • 5 1
 So sorry to see this. Incredibly saddening after watching his pilot film. His dedication to the sport is undisputed. But yes, I agree those diagnostic machines should be onsite.
  • 5 2
 Back in the day, DH racers used to wear a LOT of body armor. People compare the speeds these days to risk that moto GP racers assume, so it’s a bit curious that ‘fashion’ precludes many DH racers from wearing armor that will protect them better than the minimalist stuff worn now…..the racers could armor up, but they don’t
  • 2 0
 They already wear armour, you see it in almost every team video of the pits. It's just not as bulky and visible as in the past
  • 4 1
 Exactly. UCI is so worried about sock height and skinsuit fabric in road racing,they could spare some time to think about enforcing a rule to make all riders wear decent proteccion that could save the riders from injuries and even pass a message of safety specially for young riders that copy what they see their idols wear.
  • 5 0
 off to an interesting start...series winner might be decided by who's left.
  • 6 0
 Fastest guy in the world when he stays on the bike. Get well soon.
  • 3 0
 I cant see him doing pro DH ever again. Comminuted C5 fracture likely result in a C4-6 fusion. With that sort of fusion there would be a massive risk of paralysis with impacts an unfused spine could easily handle
  • 1 0
 Minnaar had 4 fractures in 3 vertebrae and he's over 10 years older.... Amaury will be fine. These guys get a different level of medical attention that the common man.
  • 2 0
 Still you see nobody riding with neck brace. The way they have evolved they weigh a few hundred grams and are not even noticable when riding. Could easily been the difference between a sore neck and a fracture. I don't get it.
  • 5 0
 The c section of your spine is not the section you wanna be funkin with
  • 8 6
 Heal up soon, damn DH is seeing more and more serious injuries, I’m sure its just how hard they are pushing and how capable the bikes are now.

Mandatory neck brace and back protection soon?
  • 10 0
 ...actually far more about track design I think. Neck braces DH have ambiguous research; I made sure my youth used one when he was young, but there is some concern that they exacerbate injury in some modes. Back protection: we wear it DH, but compressive fractures - wedge fractures - can be caused by over-articulation and not all protection prevents that. And those that do tend to prevent rapid motion on the bike. This should be an area of increasing research (like in F1 and GP Moto) and application of genuine measures. As they say in the video, tress with rocks under them a couple of metres from a fast section are NOT a good idea and it take nothing from the sport to put protection on these.
  • 12 0
 @vercorin1: this. 1000x this. we hear over and over again from the athletes (in vlogs and on podcasts) that the courses are getting faster and faster, mostly to create a more visually appealing product to sell to the masses. I believe we can do without that approach. I would much rather watch them ride down tricky technical trails, than this high-speed, straight-line motorway garbage we see now. Kind of like how the old Andorra track was. Or how the DH race course at MSA seems to be.

In the interest of full disclosure, I suffered two of those wedge fractures a couple of years ago on a flow trail at MSA. I'm back to riding now, but have zero interest in riding "flow trails" or anything else that pushes the speed factor really high. I also cannot watch that sort of riding. a) it wigs me out, but b) it's also just booooring. I'd spectate the stump section just above the motorway at Leogang any day of the week.
  • 4 0
 @vercorin1: Totally agree - Following moto gp myself it’s amazing how few serious injuries there are now considering some of the regular crashes with safer tracks and riding gear.

Who cares about a broken collar bone, it’s painful and annoying but ultimately not life changing - a broken neck or back though could well be.

I feel we are rolling dice until the worst happens at a race soon unless some action is taken, of course you can’t remove risk and that’s some of what makes the sport what it is but to have no consensus and mandatory form of rider protection and track side safety at this point is seriously lacking.
  • 2 2
 @slyfink: the ews injury study found that the majority of injuries occur on the slower technical sections of track.
  • 1 0
 @dthomp325: sure. but I wonder how that translates to DH, where speeds typically are higher. Most of those injuries were shoulder injuries followed by head (concussion), hand and lower leg. Concussions are obviously the most serious in that group, but those aren't constrained to the rocky sections of track (which were deemed to be the ones with the highest rate of injury, those were 50/50.

so I still stand by my point: design the tracks so they aren't so high speed. add turns and steeps in there to slow the pace down. don't purposely connect high-speed sections together. test the riders skill more, not just their mettle...
  • 2 0
 @slyfink: If they're wanting faster tracks, make them wide open. It's obvious that hitting trees and sudden stops are the problem.
  • 1 0
 Damn... this sux. Love watching his race runs. Was just talking with a co-worker the other day about biking and they were saying how it's amazing that these professional racers and Red Bull riders never get hurt. I was like, wait, what?! Are you serious? These top pros get hurt all the time! Mad respect for the limits these guys push past all the time!
  • 5 0
 Amaury Pierroff. Get well soon dude!
  • 1 0
 Again f*ck!

This is getting out of hand the UCI should mandate obligatory neck braces and full body armor with hard back protectors. Soneome is going to die or finish paralized, this is not acceptable and the UCI (the f*ckers) need to add so that all riders have the minimal hard protections., This is a sport not a death match. I got saved many times probably by my Leatt NB and hard body armour. You can f*ck up your like and the life of your loved ones with a back or neck injury. Ride hard, wear bodyarmour and stay healthy mofos.

BRING BACK ROB WARNER TO THE RACES. GRACIA FO!
  • 1 0
 Does not make sense … most spinal injuries result from vertical crash on the head or even bum and compressing the spine, that cannot be prevented by neck brace or body armour.

I broke C2, T9 and T11 last year this way and know a lot of riders with similar crash patterns
  • 1 0
 Is there much of a rental market for mobile CT?
I'm budgeting not far off US$1M for a mobile mammography van that we're about to start procurement for, and a CT unit would be probably $500k more, and need a bigger truck. Add on another $100k plus for annual maintenance, then add transport costs, staffing costs...running something like this isn't cheap.

Aside from that, is having rapid access to CT imaging going to change clinical management anyway? If there is suspicion of head or spinal injury you need to manage as though the injury exists, in which transport to urgent care is the priority. And if there isn't suspicion of injury or signs/symptoms, then a CT isn't indicated and shouldn't be done, as the risk of unnecessary X-ray exposure isn't negligible (ALARA principle).
  • 2 0
 Riding with a fractured vertebrae is insane and extremely dangerous. If onsite diagnostics is not available, then hospital visit is the only option...
  • 4 0
 Geesh. 9 lives are running low….
  • 2 0
 Bummer. Everything about Amaury is so uplifting. He’s become my favorite rider, just in personality alone. Heal up champ.
  • 4 0
 damn
  • 3 0
 Hope You heal well and soon AP!
  • 2 0
 I’d be curious if he was wearing spine protection, I’ve always wondered what amount of protection it offers
  • 3 0
 I just hope the guy heals up 100%
  • 1 0
 I wouldn't be his biggest fan but my goodness is this guy on a run of bad luck. Such a shame because his raw pace and style is great to watch to be fair.
  • 2 3
 The consequence of 110% run. I think he should back off for a bit, put it in 95% instead of going kamikaze every run. Heal up fast mate, hope for a speedy recovery for you AP.
  • 3 0
 It happened during practice. He probably wasn‘t even close to 95% lmao
  • 3 5
 @christiefitz - At the end of your article: "organizers should be obligated to have MRI or X-rays more readily available on site, like in MotoGP" as someone who lives in BC , access to MRI's for you could take anywhere from 6-12 months+ Maybe giving access to medical imaging to the general public, who need it because of a freak accident, a Tumor etc should take priority over athletes who willingly take on risk ? At the very least , not complaining about having to wait 24 hours to have an MRI , this is quicker access than any Canadian can have.
  • 8 1
 you have a potentially life altering accident in bc you will get an mri or ct in 24hrs
  • 3 0
 Could definitely see how frustrating that is, country can't even give it's own people medical care but then an athlete comes right in. After the pandemic it appears many countries really don't have enough beds or equipment. Even in the years prior I remember a friend from Canada saying the flu season completely overwhelmed the hospitals but nothing was really done about it.
  • 1 0
 If this is accurate, I would never ride in BC. Sounds like a third world country. US Healthcare may bankrupt you, but at least you can get care
  • 3 0
 @mtb-thetown: yes yes, it is all dead accurate! Visitors beware! In fact, it is safer to stay home and not come Wink
  • 1 0
 @mtb-thetown: I feel like having to worry about your children being shot dead in their school every other day, or your daughter being able to get an abortion after she was raped sound more like a 3rd world country than a long wait for an MRI
  • 1 0
 If he got picked up by Canyon he’d be all set to get an e-bike model named after him
  • 1 0
 To make it less dangerous we could just stay on the couch and let our wasted talent, had work and youth disappear.
  • 1 0
 Mxgp swiyzerland...Jeffrey Herlings....C5.
  • 2 0
 Heal up Amaury!
  • 1 0
 Sex dating➤ u.to/mWPGHw







Copyright © 2000 - 2023. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.044890
Mobile Version of Website