Some good news! Dan Atherton is finally back on his bike after breaking his neck in a horrific crash at his dirt jumps in North Wales back in July last year. The stack ended up with him breaking his C1 Disc, the serious injury forcing him to sit immobile in a full neck brace for months, giving him plenty of time for contemplation and only with his commitment and dedication to get him through the low patches.
On the 20th January, Dan received the results of a final CT scan from Dr Robert Bray, the spinal specialist who has been overseeing his treatment. Red Bull’s Darren Roberts, the Atherton families personal trainer, accompanied Dan and had this to report, “The fractures have all healed and the tiny fragments of bone which are loose will be absorbed by the body over time, there was a slim possibility that an operation was required to remove these – but thankfully that op is not needed. More importantly Dr Bray said the words we’ve been waiting to hear since July 2010, ‘you’re good to go Dan, totally healed – get back on your bike and get riding hard. Try not to break it again’.”
Dan is now back on a bike and currently in full strength and conditioning training, aiming to return to World Cup competition at the second round of the series in Fort William, Scotland. He’ll be concentrating on the discipline of downhill and he’s hoping to take his new Commencal Supreme bike back to the podium glory he enjoyed before this incident.
The Atherton team and family would like to thank all the sponsors and friends that have stood by Dan through this difficult time and worked with him to get back to this point where he can continue to shine in a sport to which he has brought so much of his unique attitude, style and speed. Here’s to the return of Dan Atherton to his rightful place, on a bike. All of us at Singletrack would like to wish him good luck in the coming season…
You can stay in touch with the Athertons and team Commencal via Twitter, Facebook and the Atherton Racing team website
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Great news.
Really good to hear he’s back and ready to rip again.
Interesting to see he’ll be competing head to head against Gee.
Whilst injury is never good, it always makes for a good read to see the road to recovery from the eye’s of a pro.
Great article in this months Dirt about Atherton Racing and all the behind the scene stuff. Very pro outfit!
Excellent news. Glad he’s doing DH – always looked good on this.
Awesome, hope he comes back stronger then ever.
Yeah fantastic news and agree that DH only is a good move, well done Dan!
Good news!
It’s incredible to come back from such a potentially disabling crash with the competitive desire still strong.
All the best Dan.
That’s brilliant news! Congrats Dan. Hope he’s learned that wheels are for landing on not heads.
There must of been some low patches, now theres an understatment,great news well done,
Good to see he is back, all the best for the season Dan.