Update: Gee Atherton ‘Not Too Bad’ After Massive Rampage Crash

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.

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!!)

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?

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!

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”?

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 🤯

This is normal. Entirely healthy behaviour.

Big contrast with Tahnee Seagrave’s experience.

Worth reading her full post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyOC1njtZPo/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Good to see him up and about!

I guess the wearing the redull cap is his payment for the hospital fees

Red Bull gives you wings is a metaphor not a guarantee.

Glad Gee is doing OK.

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”…

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.

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.

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.

They seem like level headed people 😉