Social Roundup: Lorraine Truong's Flip, Troy Brosnan's Close Call, & More
We've sorted through the weeds to bring you the best. Follow @pinkbike on Instagram for more.
Troy Brosnan:
Troy Brosnan nearly took a huge spill at the Cannonball Festival in Thredbo yesterday when a few of the other racers were a bit too eager to spot his line. Standing on the very limits of the track, Troy had to turn his bars to avoid hitting them in what could have been a nasty episode.
Troy posted two Instagrams of the incident, the first was a picture with the caption, "When the kids think it's an enduro race and stand right on the race line... almost smoked these fools today." The other was a video that called it the "closest call' of his life.
Thankfully nobody got hurt and it only serves as a timely reminder to stay behind the tape unless you're on a bike. It didn't seem to slow Troy down and he's clearly on great form for Sunday's race.
Lorraine Truong
Lorraine Truong was a rising EWS star and had just landed her dream job to become an engineer at BMC before multiple concussions while racing changed her life forever. Lorraine suffered a traumatic brain injury and spends large amounts of time in a wheelchair as a result, so we were beyond stoked when we saw this clip she uploaded.
When most people can't land a backflip on a bike Lorraine is sending it in a wheelchair!
Read about Lorraine's injury in an interview with Pinkbike here.
Fabio Wibmer:
Austrian YouTube and Trials star Fabio Wibmer had us scratching our heads for while with this one. Watch until the end for the 'wait...what?' moment.
Remy Metailler:
Remy Metailler was one of the riders competing at the Medellin Downhill Challenge and uploaded this warp speed POV of his race run. We still have no idea how these riders manage to race through streets and stairs this fast.
The Downhill Challenge Medellin has also set the Guinness World Record for the longest urban downhill mountain bike race track in the world. The 2,274.485 metre long track snaked through Commune 13 of the Colombian town, which is infamous for its association with drugs baron Pablo Escobar. More info on the race here.
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We have already had a spectator killed at a MTB DH event in the UK and that is one too many. We all like to stand close to the action but spectator management needs to come into play. Courses need to be taped top to bottom, spectators and riders to only stand on the topside of the course and never on the outside of a corner.
The clock is ticking before either a rider or spectator is seriously injured or killed due to lack of spectator management and my bet is it will happen at an enduro event where it is the wold west out there with some organisers.
And can anyone explain to me why at UCi World Cups accredited media are allowed to stand in dedicated B-Zones that are recognised as areas of risk (run off area for riders) and therefore the public are excluded. Yet a media bib allows you to stand in there. Last time I looked they are not made of Kryptonite and do not create their own forcefield. Fingers crossed we don't see a tog wiped out live on Red Bull, keep your fingers crossed people!
It's terrible everywhere, including races unfortunately
I didn't decide to go send flips in a reckless way. I promise! I started playing in parks with my wheelchair only when I felt ready for it (more than 3 years post TBI).
I went gradually to jumps at the indoor skills park you can see in the video. First landing very small jumps. And it was all done on a big air bag. So even if I did crash quite a few times (mostly because riding a wheelchair on an air bag is impossible
Playing with my wheelchair and having fun in the air have given me some sense of feeling alive again. When I am riding, I am not ruled by my TBI, but l am living my life. It also had a very positive impact on my general rehab.
I know that riding a wheelchair as I do is not absolutely safe. But if you are writing on Pinkbike you must know that when it's about riding, risks are part of the game. I can't get the rider out of myself, injured or not. My rehab might have been smoother if I could have, as I struggle for a very long times with the idea of disability. But this rider part of my is also the one that kept me alive in the toughest times..
some people live long lives, some have wide lives. live it.
congrats on your recovery so far and your bike handling skills which have translated nicely for your chair!
Lorraine: Yes.
I hope to see her again making some moves like that. Gnarly.
#stayoutsidethetape