GREG MINNAAR CRASHED AND BROKE THREE VERTEBRAE IN DOWNHILL PRACTICE AT VAL DI SOLE
He was taken by helicopter to a nearby hosptal after the Saturday morning crash
Greg Minnaar crashed on a rocky section of the downhill course at Val di Sole in practice Saturday morning. After assessing his condition, he remounted his bike and rode cautiously back down the mountain to see the medical staff at the race. They had him airlifted by helicopter to a hospital. Minnaar suffered three broken vertebrae and is expected to be off the bike for the next three months.
“Pretty horrible crash in practice resulted in a quick helicopter ride to hospital and a scary couple of hours figuring out what the damage was. Still getting a couple of results back, but what we know is that I have three fractured vertebrae. The good news is that they are stable, the bad news is I’m in a neck brace for the next three months.
“Gutted to not have been able to race the final race but I’m pretty stoked to have ended up 10th in the overall and still be protected for 2023.
“Thanks for all the kind messages from everyone and I’ll keep you updated as and when I know more.”
Greg shared a video of the crash from the back of someone’s camera (shown above) on Minnaar’s Instagram page, where mountain bike legends including Hans Rey, Tom Pidcock, Steve Peat, Loris Vergier, and Loic Bruni shared their sympathies with the downhill superstar and four-time World Champion.
The results sheet for Saturday’s final race run at Val di Sole showed Minnaa as a “DNS.” which means he didn’t show up for the start of his race run in Saturday’s finals.
Here’s an article we did on Greg in 2021 when he won his fourth UCI Downhill World Championship title: https://mbaction.com/meet-the-riders-and-their-rides-greg-minnaar/
