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Hands up, wrong on that front. Thanks both. Was sure enough I didn't even look it up. I've "known" that wrong for years.
Is there any more info about what exactly happened? It looked like he landed pretty much exactly where I thought he would have had to but then it seemed like he got pinged off the bike pretty instantly. Super impressive how in control he was with the takeoff, speed and in the air. It's difficult to imagine how you can make yourself do that
edit:reading the comments it seems he may have landed a bit too far down. Doesn't look like there is any margin for error 🙁
The pinkbike article says
Gee's drop has been highlighted by competitors as especially difficult and terrifying. It was quite windy when he sent it this morning, most other riders weren't planning on riding at the time. He hit the drop with a lot of speed, drifting a bit back seat and to the right in the air, and landing deep before crashing.
And it does look like he's a bit out of shape in the air.
That’s 100m+ horizontal though – the vertical, albeit considerable, is less.
"ski flying" is apparently the term for extreme ski jumping which goes well beyond Olympic parameters. They can reach in excess of 200m distance, and around 100m vertical drop from take-off to landing. It's a bit different due to the lift from the skis (and body position) but still basically a fall from height onto a slope.
reading the comments it seems he may have landed a bit too far down. Doesn’t look like there is any margin for error
I thought the same. Given how big and steep the drop is and how steep and short the landing is there must be a tiny difference in speed/rider input leaving the roll-in between plopping right at the top of the transition and landing too deep to ride out.
I’ve just heard from a sponsor out at the site that Gee is conscious. No more info beyond that as yet.
Sounds rather ominous just reporting that he is conscious, as I mentioned earlier in the thread I wish he could see his way to doing something else. I say this from the perspective of being told I would never walk again after a car crash that shattered 5 vertebrae (12 month recovery) then two years later a further two vertebrae fractures and ripping out the titanium framework in a downhill race, then 25 years later being diagnosed with spms and barely able to move my one very limited/functioning leg. If I was offered a magic wonder pill that would give me one day of riding then death vs living what’s left of life then I’d take the pill and ride all day till I drop.
Healing vibes to gee, I so hope he’s alright.
Rewatched the bit of Matt Jones' video (2:30 in
) and I think he landed about here:
Thats what I guessed as well so I would have though that that was well with the target area but I'm willing to believe the pinkbike article.
I've got mixed feelings about it. It's amazing what they do; what gives me the fear might as well be hopping off a lowered kerb in comparison.
I don't think the 'think of the children' (copying) argument is worth anything, there's a billion things in the world children copy. Weren't they (the children we're thinking of) strangling each other at one point (or am I thinking of politicians/celebrities in sex dungeons/etc?)? Sorry bit of a tangent there! Not buying the 'its just marketing' argument either, it's a factor of course, but it's the spectacle of it, and marketing always hijacks that.
The riders are professionals at this, but, who is there with them, is it just dig crew bros and rider (and close family)? Shouldn't there be a whole host of other professionals there too, for example as in the world DH championships etc?
I can't pretend to know Gee in any way whatsoever, but can't help thinking, now we know the conditions had stopped other riders, there should have been someone there who could have advised him to stop who he would have listened to.
Phew.
Heavy day yesterday. Testing out the new drop on my Rampage run and a combo of slightly deep and a bit of a wind gust meant I couldn’t ride it out.
Injuries are not too bad tho, some fractures to vertebrae and a few skull fractures will mean I’ll have to chill for a few weeks.
What hurts the most tho is missing the event this Friday, especially after the dig crew have been putting in such an effort.
Big thanks to the medical crew on site, and to @alfraynor, @kuli_1995 and @moonhead_media for creating this beast. We’ll be back
Can't believe I'm saying phew to broken vertebrae, but that seems pretty incredible.
Can’t believe I’m saying phew to broken vertebrae, but that seems pretty incredible.
And a few skull fractures!
I can’t pretend to know Gee in any way whatsoever, but can’t help thinking, now we know the conditions had stopped other riders, there should have been someone there who could have advised him to stop who he would have listened to.
Isn't one of his diggers Dan, his brother? If you're not listening to Dan, no one else is going to cut it.
Fracture vertebrae and skull fractures, he’s lucky to be alive.
Gee Atherton:
"meh, I just broke my back and my head, both in several places, nothing too bad, I'll be jumping off stupid high cliffs again in a week or two"
🤘
Also…
<br />I couldn’t ride it out.
That’s understatement bordering on delirium. The wheels barely touched the floor before he was ejected.
So happy he's "ok"
Is there any more info about what exactly happened?
Yeah, he jumped off a cliff on a pushbike.
Hth 😉
Incredibly lucky 'escape'. So glad he didn't sustain more serious injuries.
Two nasty head injuries in three years. I hope someone is advising him to pause and work out if he's actually escaped serious injury before he starts hitting it again.
So glad he didn’t sustain more serious injuries
A broken skull and back is not serious? It’s about as serious as it gets, unless you class death as an injury
He will have life changing injuries from this and his other crashes, maybe not immediately but in years to come when biking is no longer an income for him he will really suffer
A broken skull and back is not serious? It’s about as serious as it gets, unless you class death as an injury
He will have life changing injuries from this and his other crashes, maybe not immediately but in years to come when biking is no longer an income for him he will really suffer
The fact you're questioning this means you'll simply never 'get it' you'll never get the mindset. When you're that involved, that absorbed, everything else doesn't exist, the consequences in later life don't matter, look at racers like Mick Doohan, Joey Dunlop, look at the Free Climber guys, they do it because, well, they're doing it whether you, I or anyone else agrees or approves. Gee seems to be the same, he does it because he wants to, because it what drives him. He'll wake up tomorrow and go "oooooh that hurts" and in 4 weeks, 6 weeks, he'll completely forget the pain from today and be wanting to get back out again.
I was of the same sort of mindset when racing motorbikes (but will less skill obviously) and even when shattering a femur, breaking many many bones, my first job when getting out of hospital was to see my bike and get my mate to start repairs so i could race again. The bike was fixed before i was, but that didn't stop me racing again. I wanted to race the TT, that was my goal and my aim, but i wasn't good enough to make it.
.
I'm not trying to tell Gee what to do, but in my head he's becoming the MTB version of Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler.
On another note, so why do they hold Rampage on a Friday anyway?
Heal quickly but don’t pretend broken vertebrate and skull fractures are not serious injuries I hope these comments are just the public version
The fact you’re questioning this means you’ll simply never ‘get it’ you’ll never get the mindset.<br />
I get it. But it’s neither healthy nor admirable, despite what some on here might say.
It’s denial and willy waving.
It’s denial and willy waving.
Nah, it's a side effect of what they do, His sister routinely dislocates her shoulder doing her day job, his brother broke his neck not that long ago and spent months in traction. They could stop at any point, but I'm guessing they won't.
Having had two broken vertebrae (and now missing half of one), it's serious. I still suffer 8 years on.
His sister routinely dislocates her shoulder doing her day job, his brother broke his neck not that long ago and spent months in traction.
Red Bull should sponsor a return of Last of the Summer Wine. Each week we follow these loveable characters as their crazy bicycle antics inevitably end in disaster and an uplifting thumbs up from a hospital bed. You have been watching...
Isn't there a difference between broken and fractured, where i think fractured can be a teeny tiny crack, broken being separation ?
Red Bull should sponsor a return of Last of the Summer Wine. Each week we follow these loveable characters as their crazy bicycle antics inevitably end in disaster and an uplifting thumbs up from a hospital bed. You have been watching…
Got to any DH race, any Enduro race, they all have broken bones each week... all have someone in the medical bay... It's MTBing, it's dangerous...
Lets try and keep thing in perspective here.
Atherton was doing stuff like this pre-rampage.... Semenuk does it all the time... Fairclough rides stupid stuff (to most people anyway) all the time...
The fact RedBull are hosting the event doesn't mean anything at all.
So glad he didn’t sustain more serious injuries
A broken skull and back is not serious? It’s about as serious as it gets, unless you class death as an injury
I meant, in addition to ...
Badly phrased.
The fact you’re questioning this means you’ll simply never ‘get it’ you’ll never get the mindset.
Oh I absolutely do get it - I was chucking myself of cliffs on skis in my teenage years and 20's doing stuff that could have easily killed me and others.
But with age comes wisdom (in theory). At some point you have to realise you skills are not as they were, and your body is not what it was, and therefore you cant keep doing the same things. I fully agree that no one was making Gee do this but he does need to come to peace at some point with where he is in life unless he wants to end up dead.
Oh I absolutely do get it – I was chucking myself of cliffs on skis in my teenage years and 20’s doing stuff that could have easily killed me and others.
But with age comes wisdom (in theory). At some point you have to realise you skills are not as they were, and your body is not what it was, and therefore you cant keep doing the same things. I fully agree that no one was making Gee do this but he does need to come to peace at some point with where he is in life unless he wants to end up dead
Coolio.
I agree, there does... but he's not going to listen to random people on the internets comments that he'll never see. 🙂
Isn’t there a difference between broken and fractured, where i think fractured can be a teeny tiny crack, broken being separation ?
That's what I always thought, but I believe it's actually all called fracture medically speaking and "broken" is just the colloquial term.
… but he’s not going to listen to random people on the internets comments that he’ll never see.
I've sometimes wondered if there are any pro riders (ie, well known famous ones) on here hiding behind the username to avoid the attention. Any guesses? 😉
But with age comes wisdom (in theory). At some point you have to realise you skills are not as they were, and your body is not what it was, and therefore you cant keep doing the same things.
But it shouldn't just be Gee's decision, it should be Red Bulls as both his sponsor and event organiser. In my view, Gee shouldn't have been given a entry based on his age and injury history.
Gee will always think he is capable and will continue, but it's the responsibility of others to determine if he should be given the platform to do it.
I’ve sometimes wondered if there are any pro riders (ie, well known famous ones) on here hiding behind the username to avoid the attention. Any guesses?
OK it's a fair cop, I'm actually Amaury Pierron.
Gee will always think he is capable and will continue, but it’s the responsibility of others to determine if he should be given the platform to do it.
No it's not... that's like telling Minaar he should retire as he's too old..
It's his choice, if he's not hitting features as part of a RedBull event, he'll be hitting it as part of Atherton Bikes, or Dyfi, or etc etc.
tis but a scratch....
Gee will always think he is capable and will continue, but it’s the responsibility of others to determine if he should be given the platform to do it.
No it’s not… that’s like telling Minaar he should retire as he’s too old..
Sounds like it's a bit of both for this one, although others aren't responsible they can try and influence. He's not just in a simple state of getting older, he's now got multiple skull and spinal fractures not long after another set of very serious injuries (not just the 'normal' mtb stuff or a wrist here, a tib/fib there, collar bone there, etc). There's a good chance that there's a doctor somewhere telling him it's time to stop after so many injuries.
Lets not forget that he's hit his helmet hard enough to break his head. Hopefully he'll not end up going a similar way as the likes of Dave Mirra
telling Minaar he should retire as he’s too old..
Bugger off!
Whoops!
It’s his choice, if he’s not hitting features as part of a RedBull event, he’ll be hitting it as part of Atherton Bikes, or Dyfi, or etc etc.
No it’s not… that’s like telling Minaar he should retire as he’s too old..
As an employer you do need to make that call eventually, if there comes a point at which the risk is no longer possible to acceptably manage someone needs to say "no, you can no longer do this as part of your paid employment" that's not the same as telling him he can't ride anymore, it's just telling him he can't do it for you anymore.
It's why I can work unsupervised up a ladder on my roof in my own time but I sure as hell can't do it on a building site.
It's difficult because the nature of their employment in rampage and the like of go bigger go better go harder. Telling them they need to go shorter, slower and easier is tantamount to firing them. That being said we're all quite accustomed to sports people retiring or being dropped from the top in their 30s in none gravity sports because they simply can't keep up anymore, you don't bounce anymore doesn't seem that unreasonable a ground for making the same decision.
Bugger off!
Whoops!
Aha! Good camouflage with the similar accent 😉
I love DH racing, and I get that there is danger involved in racing. But there is a difference between DH and Rampage.
I completely understand why the riders choose to do Rampage. I played Rugby League until my 30’s. My body is pretty wrecked because of it. I knew the risks, my dad was also a rugby league player and knew exactly what was instore for my body as I aged. But I absolutely loved playing, training and the processes involved in the game. It’s not that I ever thought it won’t happen to me, it’s the fact that I absolutely loved it and accepted the consequences. (I have very little use of one of my arms due to a neck and shoulder injury, sleeping is very hard to come by due to lower back injuries….changing a tyre is a nightmare for me due to lack of grip strength - but I would never have changed any of it)
I am conflicted when I watch Rampage, mainly because I’m now a squeamish wheels on the ground 50 year old. The skill needed to do what they do is amazing, the almost rawness to it is great to watch. The riders are fully aware of the risks. They are clearly nervous/wary of the challenges. And they’re not doing it just for the cash. For me, this type of riding is pretty much the pinnacle of mtb’ing. And I’m a XC rider/racer. I do get it’s not for everyone, but even watching the ridgelines they do, it’s awesome to watch and their skill shines through.
But equally, I hate to see Gee crashing like he did. I look at some of the drops/jumps and it does appear that there is absolutely zero margin of mistake and the failure can be life changing.
I don’t think it should change. I think people should be allowed to make their own mind up on what they want to do/risk. But as long as they’re not doing it just because of commercial or financial reasons. (I know there’s a conflict there as they need to do this for publicity/sponsorship reasons….aaagghh, proper conflicted!!)
Anyway..... any more news on how Gee is doing?
No it’s not… that’s like telling Minaar he should retire as he’s too old..
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It’s his choice, if he’s not hitting features as part of a RedBull event, he’ll be hitting it as part of Atherton Bikes, or Dyfi, or etc etc.
Minaar hasn't suffered anything like Gee has. Age, in relation to Gee, has to be considered against his past injuries.
If Gee wants to throw himself off cliffs in his spare time, it's his choice and not part of an official, invitation only event.
The TT for example - why couldn't Ian Hutchinson compete this year. Because the rules dictate he couldn't based on that fact he'd had a stroke, even though Ian himself felt fine to race. Those rules are there to protect the athlete.
Is it the sensible decision to put Gee as first reserve after the reletively short time since his last catastrophic injuries?
IIRC a few years ago I … erm I mean Greg… went down the Hardline track with Rob Warner. He refused to do the road gap. He has no need to, he’s still performing well.
Here you go. 2018
There's a lot of camaraderie at Rampage, and with it i'd say a bit of self policing, i.e. riders and support making sure nobody goes off and builds something unrideable, but yes, it is big and it is dangerous, Gee just looked like he got pushed out of shape by the wind, landed it, but couldn't hold it and crashed, i've read about the vertebrae and skull fractures, but guessing that with the way he is, and the way he's talking they may be more micro-fractures rather than extensive ones., but only guessing at this.
Having seen a couple of videos, it'll be the wind that messes about with folk more than anything, that area looks like it has a lot of areas where the venturi effect will be quite harsh, especially if you're in the air for a while, like those big gap jumps and drops!
IIRC a few years ago I … erm I mean Greg… went down the Hardline track with Rob Warner. He refused to do the road gap.
I remember watching that at the time and being quite pleased that you, sorry I mean Greg, seems to have the same fear of heights as me.
😀
I don't think Warner hit it either FWIW
In my view, Gee shouldn’t have been given a entry based on his age and injury history.
Uh huh, I can see that conversation going well;
"You can't come to the desert and throw yourself of the cliffs as you're too old and broken...Also, can we plaster our logo all over the welsh hillside next year at Hardline, the self titled "Hardest DH track in the world"?
It’s MTBing, it’s dangerous…
It doesn’t have to be.
This is the attitude that many MTB coaches are trying to get past.
Also, I’m not sure that most people who do these sorts of sports do understand and accept the risks, IME denial is far more commonplace.
Yeah, massive crash, a few broken bits, let’s get outside and meet the people 🤯
i’m not going to tell him he should stop, though he’s storing issues up for later life. that said, i still take risks and scare myself a few time a week and never think about what would happen. that said, if i ****ed myself up i’d have a little chat with myself. but i’m married with a child. 2 possible reasons that i’m doing as well as i am.
anyway, this crossed my mind
Got to any DH race, any Enduro race, they all have broken bones each week… all have someone in the medical bay… It’s MTBing, it’s dangerous…
festivals are full of folk in the medical tent freaking out on drugs. now those kinds of drugs aren’t a big factor in my life, but i couldn’t help seeing a parallel between the 2 situations.
i have a friend who too his early-teen children to a festival and part of the outing was to visit the medical tent. if my son told me he wanted to get in to DH, showing him the “casualties” would not even enter my head (possibly because i’d be too excited).
Big contrast with Tahnee Seagrave’s experience.
Worth reading her full post.
It’s MTBing, it’s dangerous…
It doesn’t have to be.
Is there a safe way to send a 20 metre drop? LOL.
Is there a safe way to send a 20 metre drop? LOL.
Is there a safer way than riding it when everyone else thinks the wind isn't suitable?
You can't make it safe, you can make it less dangerous.
No way would I do anything the Rampage folk do, but I use to motorcycle commute the best part of 100 miles per day from the home counties into Central London & around the M25/M3/M4 - did it for nearly 2 decades. Big bikes (900/1000/1050), all weathers and yes, often far in excess of the speed limit (60's & 70's).
I stopped not long before we moved up to Scotland and I've not ridden a motorcycle since, even though we've stunning empty roads - I just feel that I 'survived' and used all my lives up.
I'd suggest this was at least as risky as what the guys are doing, and the penalty of failure is as high, if not higher but it's up to Gee (and the others) to make the same 'call'.
Sometimes though they need a bit of 'help' - as Barry Sheene quipped after Mick Doohan said he wasn't retiring from the back of an ambulance (after a very nasty crash & severe injuries), "better an ambulance than a hearse"...
This is normal. Entirely healthy behaviour.
For Gee, being amongst a group people of whom he both respects their opinion, and knows that they understand and support him, it may very well be.
It’s MTBing, it’s dangerous…
Nope. It's a spectrum, some aspects of it carry more risk than others.
Don't apply your own risk aversion to others and then draw judgements from it. If it's not for you, cool.
Short interview with Gee where he explains why he does this, starting at 9:00 - https://www.pinkbike.com/news/behind-the-scenes-last-practice-sessions-at-red-bull-rampage-2023.html
Him being out says to me that we still don't take head injury seriously enough in this sport. If he's had a skull fracture, he shouldn't be out, he should be resting.
I presume he has passed concussion testing. If you bang your head hard enough to brake your skull inside the best helmet your sponsor makes you must have given your brain a bit of a wobble.
Again, it's down to the severity of the injuries, he's looking like he's in protective braces to protect against further damage rather than damage already sustained, so more likely microfractures rather than actual breaks.
It does seem a bit daft for him to be there at this time though, as the journey to the site doesn't look pleasant and all he'll do is aggravate the injured area, no qualms about him doing what he loves, but i doubt he's following medical advice going on an off-road dune buggy style ride and being in a secluded area.
For Gee, being amongst a group people of whom he both respects their opinion, and knows that they understand and support him, it may very well be.
Yeah, Groupthink never leads to bad outcomes does it?
They seem like level headed people 😉