Grossmann in coma after urban downhillin Vuelta

[pharmaboy]

Saw this before any information was available, but it really beggars belief what the hell the organisers were up to

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=608_1493739073&comments=1

There was nothing about this crash on the main page for the event, more to the point it seemed conspicuously absent. I watched the other videos of the event and that part was diverted around - practice headcam went straight down the street, as did the race (presumably they changed it just before the race, the inevitable happened, then they changed it back)

PLEASE USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT ON WATCHING THE VIDEO - ITS A SICKINING IMPACT

 

[Zaf]

Saw this before any information was available, but it really beggars belief what the hell the organisers were up to

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=608_1493739073&comments=1

There was nothing about this crash on the main page for the event, more to the point it seemed conspicuously absent. I watched the other videos of the event and that part was diverted around - practice headcam went straight down the street, as did the race (presumably they changed it just before the race, the inevitable happened, then they changed it back)

PLEASE USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT ON WATCHING THE VIDEO - ITS A SICKINING IMPACT

Jesus christ! That's a vicious snap back.
I dunno about the whole Urban Downhill thing, it seems to be MTB version of Isle of Man with regards to the injury vs entertainment rates.
I know that it's never good to see a rider go down, especially not like that!

 

[Spike-X]

That's nasty. I'd be very surprised if there was no spinal damage.

 

[indica]

Wow. Be surprised if he wakes up after that.
What a fucking stupid race. Several minutes to get a stretcher there too.

 

[Dozer]

This kind of accident is just so negligent, they need to put these urban races in places where the riders can pick the lines in advance so people don't end up in spinal wards or in this case; a fucking coma. While it is good to bring this rad sport to places that adore the entertainment, it just isn't worth the increased risk. It can be done a lot better and still keep the wow factor, just without the extra risk.
I hope he pulls through just fine.

 

[scblack]

I cant see the video, work domain has blocked it. So wont comment on urban downhilling.

But related, and it a roadie thing is this: The Giro (Italian worldtour race) has added a new prize category. They are adding a downhill segment winner over several descending segments. The riders are apparently very worried about this. A Giro rider died in a descent a few years ago - Wouter Weylandt, and a rider a couple of weeks ago died similarly. The riders are worried that in a peloton there could be riders flat out downhilling and cause accidents.

What are you guys thoughts?

I think harden up and get on with racing. Roadie riders are not reknowned for skills (but they can be pretty good - just not all of them by any means). No-one is forced to participate in the descent sections, so some can stay "safe" if they wish. One thing to think of, these are alpine descents and speeds can reach 100kmh plus, so on a road bike that's pretty hairy depending on corners etc.

Personally I love watching the road riders go downhill sections as their cornering skills (or lack thereof) are shown, and the riding would be so much fun.

 

[Nerdbox]

Holy shit - talk about a ticking time bomb feature...

I've never supported Urban DH. For me it's just massive uneccessary risk for the sake of a few general public / non MTB viewers...

Poor guy...fingers crossed

 

[johnny]

I love urban DH and used to do city rides every week 10-15 years back (it's how I found this website in the first place). It's great fun and no one forces the riders to compete, so to the naysayers I fart in your general direction.

In saying that, fucking ouch, feel really bad for the rider and hope he pulls up ok. We would never have launched off that set of stairs back in the day as the dangers would have been blindingly obvious. I understand that these races are held in less developed parts of the world but whoever let that feature slip by should be held responsible. Dumbest thing I've seen on a course anywhere.

 

[pharmaboy]

Unfortunately a coma if not medically induced has a very bad prognosis for both survival and future disability, ergo Michael Schumacher as a not uncommon example.

It is almost like someone made a mistake on which side of the fence the crowd were supposed to be on because practice session took you down the Main Street not that footpath.

I think that change is most at fault - if something is pre ridden and obviously dangerous then you know what to do, when it changes mid stream, how does the rider know what's coming up. I'm still gobsmacked at the lack of response from race organisers, monster energy etc - they seem to be hoping it will all go away I think.

 

[mtb101]

only thing is the organisers assumed he'd roll down the stairs. organiser safety fail.



****


*****

 

[Flow-Rider]

I cant see the video, work domain has blocked it. So wont comment on urban downhilling.

But related, and it a roadie thing is this: The Giro (Italian worldtour race) has added a new prize category. They are adding a downhill segment winner over several descending segments. The riders are apparently very worried about this. A Giro rider died in a descent a few years ago - Wouter Weylandt, and a rider a couple of weeks ago died similarly. The riders are worried that in a peloton there could be riders flat out downhilling and cause accidents.

What are you guys thoughts?

I think harden up and get on with racing. Roadie riders are not reknowned for skills (but they can be pretty good - just not all of them by any means). No-one is forced to participate in the descent sections, so some can stay "safe" if they wish. One thing to think of, these are alpine descents and speeds can reach 100kmh plus, so on a road bike that's pretty hairy depending on corners etc.

Personally I love watching the road riders go downhill sections as their cornering skills (or lack thereof) are shown, and the riding would be so much fun.

Most Tour riders can descend pretty fast (average around 80km mark) but you always get the hero that wants to risk it all for a stage win or up their rider profile by a few minutes of fame by TV coverage. Unless they get out in front, usually they can't get away to out descend the pack.

 

[Flow-Rider]

only thing is the organisers assumed he'd roll down the stairs. organiser safety fail.

When your right up on top of the stairs the view of the ledge through the helmet would be somewhat obscured. Not a good outcome for the rider but it's the risk most of us take.

 

[scblack]

When your right up on top of the stairs the view of the ledge through the helmet would be somewhat obscured. Not a good outcome for the rider but it's the risk most of us take.

It is something I always take note of when walking down covered stairs - how close would my head come to hitting the roof if I gapped these stairs?

Note that I do not ever actually gap them, but its something I look at.

 

[Nautonier]

Has anyone read the comments on the link? What a bunch of *insert appropriate phrase here*.

 

[stirk]

Has anyone read the comments on the link? What a bunch of *insert appropriate phrase here*.

I did now, and yeah bunch of insensitive oxygen thieves you would not piss on if they were on fire.

 

[pharmaboy]

When your right up on top of the stairs the view of the ledge through the helmet would be somewhat obscured. Not a good outcome for the rider but it's the risk most of us take.

Yep, definite downside of visors, and also just the edge of a helmet. i notice the same thing with a cap on - I have a low ceiling in a workshop area, and I almost never hit my head, until I walk under with a cap on, and bang! Same goes for night riding, where I manage to catch the helmet mounted light on branches pretty regularly. He maybe has only misjudged by an inch in order to create a truly catastrophic outcome .

 

[Nautonier]

I did now, and yeah bunch of insensitive oxygen thieves you would not piss on if they were on fire.

"Insensitive" was the first word that came to mind for me as well. A guy just hurt himself really badly, show a little sympathy folks. I wonder how they would have reacted if they'd been there in person? Laughed and walked off?

The comments section on so many web pages (with video content) really shows how truly doomed we are as a species.

 

[Flow-Rider]

It is something I always take note of when walking down covered stairs - how close would my head come to hitting the roof if I gapped these stairs?

Note that I do not ever actually gap them, but its something I look at.

Yep, definite downside of visors, and also just the edge of a helmet. i notice the same thing with a cap on - I have a low ceiling in a workshop area, and I almost never hit my head, until I walk under with a cap on, and bang! Same goes for night riding, where I manage to catch the helmet mounted light on branches pretty regularly. He maybe has only misjudged by an inch in order to create a truly catastrophic outcome .

I'm 167cm without shoes and if I hit my head walking down stairs something is really wrong. It's easily done on a mountain bike, you can lose focus for a split second and it all goes bad after that.

"Insensitive" was the first word that came to mind for me as well. A guy just hurt himself really badly, show a little sympathy folks. I wonder how they would have reacted if they'd been there in person? Laughed and walked off?

The comments section on so many web pages (with video content) really shows how truly doomed we are as a species.

Karma! If it comes back around it's twice as bad.

 

[moorey]

That was truly horrifying to watch. Hope old mate is ok. I feel ill seeing that.

 

[mtb101]

When your right up on top of the stairs the view of the ledge through the helmet would be somewhat obscured. Not a good outcome for the rider but it's the risk most of us take.

I don't know if you look at the line he was going to take it would have cleared most of the stairs and put him at nearly chest height on ledge.

the only thing I can say is we all must reccie a route before we go flat out on it - we take risks, but they're within our skillset and/or knowledge of the route so you know what you can sustain. of course you 'assume' organisers would have the expertise to anticipate the lines riders would take.

its a very high impact as just about all his energy would have been at that point, very sad for grossmann.