Is there any published context for the severity and frequency of injuries in downhill mountain bike racing?
I’m sincerely concerned about the risks that my favorite athletes take. The number of severe, life-changing injuries seems scarily high: TBIs, broken hips, femurs, and backs is what I’m talking about.
This seems like a serious taboo topic, but…
I was never pro myself, and have never depended on the sport for a paycheck. And, I don’t even compete myself anymore. But I still get after it a bit…so I do have some context for injury. Broken foot, hands (2x), torn biceps, partial rotator tears, concussions.
At the very least, is there a way for riders to track the rate / severity of serious injury in pro downhill racing? Has anyone done this or is it even an “official” discussion within the upper levels of the sport.
Obviously, this is a discussion that only matters for racers themselves. But there is a whole ecosystem beyond that: mechanics, staff who depend on the sport for a job—bike companies that profit off the excitement of racing. Even us spectators are thrilled by the danger, of course. I’m curious if there is discussion above a whisper level?
All highly physically demanding sports have risks. Football players, race car drivers, moto, rugby, hell even road cycling.
I used to compete at the highest level of North American big mountain freeskiing in the 00s. In the ~8-9 years I was around, three people died in contest runs. I’m not sure what the right answer was for the sport at the time, but people clearly knew the potential hazards and continued to participate. And that participation wasn’t out of the hope of getting paid or making a career. Very very few people could do that in the sport at the time (or even now). People just wanted to push themselves.
Events should take every precaution to remove excess risk (large b-zones, pads on trees, etc) but at the end of the day, riding a downhill bike fast is dangerous and everyone who does it needs to decide if they want to accept that risk. Furthermore, getting paid to do any sport is a privilege not a right it my eyes. If nobody got paid, some people would still be out there pushing, others probably wouldn’t. If someone is clearly in the latter, maybe they shouldn’t be competing at all. However, I think people should also have the opportunity to ride a bike at maximal speeds if they want to, and if people want to watch, that’s fair game too.
TL:DR - I think most high level racers know the risks they are taking. They would likely be taking them regardless. The few that wouldn’t should probably stop racing.
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