Video: Talus Turk Overshoots 90 Footer at Darkfest & Breaks Collarbone

Feb 8, 2024 at 14:41
by Sarah Moore  


Darkfest kicked off this week in South Africa and there have already been some huge sends. Unfortunately, 2023 Red Bull Rampage fifth-place finisher Talus Turk's Darkfest has ended early after he went a little too fast into the 90 footer and broke his collarbone. He says he's undergone surgery and expects to be back riding in 4-5 weeks.


bigquotesHere ya go folks a good ol slam

Totally knew what went wrong from the get go, went a little too fast into the 90. There was a slight head wind and the humidity in the air was making most of the jumps run slower than usual. Head wind hit my tires and sent me sideways and off axis. Probably landed around 100 - 105 ft

Very thankful to walk away with just a broken collarbone. Sorry @woodstockturk for scaring you and thanks for helping me get sorted in the hospital. Already got surgery and will be back riding in 4 - 5 weeks.

In a way this crash was a blessing because means I gotta keep working and perfecting that big air mentality. I really appreciate time off the bike and I’m looking forward to approaching it differently. Thanks for letting me huck my meat on the course @samreynolds26. I’ll be back for more with this one, I want it so bad
Talus Turk


Check out all the Darkfest coverage here and keep an eye on Pinkbike's Instagram for behind-the-scenes coverage.

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71 Comments
  • 120 1
 lol, Overshot a 90 footer.......i undershoot riding of a gutter
  • 41 0
 Yeah, most PBers overshoot 9 footer and break collarbone. Proof every Friday…
  • 76 13
 I don't see that he overshot it.... It looks way more like he just over rotated and landed sideways.
  • 10 1
 He mentioned that the wind caught his wheels and pushed him off axis.
  • 34 3
 He probably knows what he’s talking about, no? To have proper speed for the next hit, I don’t think they would intentionally land that far down the transition, even though there is still a lot of transition left below him. Definitely went a bit deep along with getting sideways.
  • 5 37
flag scott-townes (Feb 9, 2024 at 2:32) (Below Threshold)
 You're blind, homey.
  • 14 2
 Having absolutely no experience of anything like this, my guess would be that the excess speed meant he was both higher than planned and also airborne for longer, both factors causing him to be exposed to the rotational effect of the wind for longer and so landing beyond an angle that could be recovered. To me the overshooting was another outcome rather than the cause. Either way, wishing him a speedy recovery.
  • 17 1
 @Woody25: how dare you bring thoughtful analysis, sound reasoning, and articulate writing to the PB comment section!
  • 2 0
 When you’re both hitting stuff this big, and doing rotations, the smallest margins of speed or pull on the lip make huge differences on the whole jump. He was probably only going 4-5km/h faster, but that alters the whole rotation, paired with wind. Kid knows what he’s talking about.
  • 2 1
 @andrewgiesbrecht: Nah man, the randos on PB who have never hit a jump larger than 15ft. are more trustworthy and credible than the actual rider who crashed attempting a backflip on a 90ft jump. LOL
  • 50 2
 Talus was fully extended, he shoulda reduced his travel a bit...
  • 29 1
 That was a great pun. However many of our the new age riders won't understand as they've never got to experience a talas fork in the wild. I got a good laught out of it though
  • 14 5
 To me, it looks like u turned a little too far in the air
  • 4 0
 Talus about it
  • 1 0
 He should improve his Flight Control.
  • 1 0
 while most people only go from a to b midair, talus really went C. T[o]. D.
  • 36 1
 Freeride problems
  • 15 40
flag lkubica (Feb 8, 2024 at 22:23) (Below Threshold)
 I just cannot understand how this is called freeride when the course is 100% machine made...
  • 5 5
 @lkubica: “Freeride” these days just means slopestyle with bigger jumps.
  • 4 0
 @lkubica: what is it then?
  • 8 1
 @FuzzyL: Of course, I have no problem with how it looks, but the name seems not really adequate. In skiing there is freestyle and freeride and they are a bit different things.
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: In motorcycle riding, xc is more technical than enduro.@lkubica: In motorcycle riding, xc is more technical than enduro.
  • 2 1
 @FuzzyL: so slopestyle is downcountry freeride? Or is freeride upcountry slopestyle?
  • 1 1
 @lkubica: Skiing and mtbing are two different sports, bud. There's a reason why we don't call turning on a MTB "carving".
  • 1 0
 @scott-townes: dunno bout you 'bud', but there is most definitely carving on a MTB.
  • 1 1
 @RBalicious: That's called cornering because tires don't have edges, you dope.
  • 1 0
 @scott-townes: That they do, side knobs. And ask anyone who scrubs/whips and you carve off the lip, you walnut.
  • 1 0
 @scott-townes: You don't corner off lips of jumps when scrubbing or whipping. You carve. I see you have a free ride video posted on your profile page, looks more like carving is going on, rather than cornering. (Other than eating dirt and dropping anchor.)
  • 20 3
 Loving these comments telling Talus he didn't overshoot the jump and that this isn't freeride. Like dude you send emails for a job and can barely ride your local jump trail save it for reddit
  • 6 0
 sir, i'm a spreadsheet engineer
  • 1 0
 @mrcavooter: I always tell bioinformatics people that Excel is The Peoples' Database. And I prefer to think of myself as a bike park patron rather than a park rat.
  • 18 1
 Damn that's a heavy slam. Glad it's just the collarbone. Dudes got an amazing mindset. Heal up!
  • 15 0
 Hey PB his last name is Turk, not Turks.
  • 22 0
 Maybe there is more that one of him.
  • 11 1
 His name isn't Turk Turkleton?
  • 8 0
 Personally, I've always been pretty good at "sending it". It's the whole "landing it" part that gets me into trouble too. Red Bull or Monster Energy should at least pick up his tab at the hospital, and send this hombre loco an XL swag gift basket; bare minimum. Respect.
  • 9 0
 Tab at the hospital? What like a bill?
  • 3 0
 @panaphonic: about 1/16th what mine would be for that injury here in the USA.
  • 8 0
 DAMN that crash looked a lot worse than a collarbone! Good on you man and Heal up!
  • 2 0
 I was really interesting listening to Sam Reynolds talk about seeing a time when he won't be able to, or will choose not to ride these jumps. He also talked about getting injured and the impact it can have on his livelihood. These riders are putting more on the line than their bodies on the line. This is how they fed themselves and their family so its really impressive to see them pushing boundaries and taking these risks. I am always glad when they can walk away from something like this.
  • 5 0
 Thats a crash I don't want to watch more than once. Heal fast!
  • 4 0
 Overshooting a 90 footer. Gah damn.
  • 1 0
 Reading comments about people moaning this isn't free ride is akin to Niko stating Darkfest isn't 'core' enough. Freeride = free to ride what is in front of you however you like and can be creative with.
  • 3 0
 4 to 5 weeks ... It's good to be young Smile It would be months for me...
  • 21 0
 At the age of 59 I broke mine,had surgery four days later and was back at six weeks...but I'm also a really irresponsible grandmother.
  • 7 0
 @hvmatt: you sound like the grandmother we all need in our life, TBH.
  • 1 0
 @hvmatt: You are one tough mother Wink I'm about to turn 62 and feel like I'm on borrowed time given the number of gravity moments I've had when I was younger (MTB, BMX and a vert skateboarder).
  • 5 2
 It wasn't stupidity, it was the humidity!
  • 1 0
 I'd be happy to walk away from that with a broken collar bone. If I crashed like that at my age you'd have to just bury me on the track.
  • 2 0
 Heal up soon!!! That delayed tire blow is crazy.
  • 3 1
 Tough kid. He must be made out of rubber.
  • 1 0
 Damn I’m sorry about that bro!! Sending healing vibes your way!! Much love!!
  • 1 1
 Reminds me of breaking my collarbone overshooting the last jump on power hour at highland... But this jump is over double the size!
  • 1 0
 Honestly should've been a worse outcome. So friggin gnarly. Glad he's relatively o.k.
  • 1 0
 That kid is built tuff and will be back sending before we know it
  • 2 0
 that's a doozy
  • 1 1
 Humidity causing the dirt to be a bit tackier I'm assuming, thus slowing the jumps?
  • 1 0
 Damn, harsh hit. Sending healing vibes bro,
  • 1 0
 Sounds like the dude has the right mindset
  • 1 0
 Overshooting a 90footer landing at 90 degree
  • 2 1
 99 problems…
  • 1 1
 Harsh fest
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