Tom Van Steenbergen Broke Hip Sockets Into Multiple Pieces, Femur, Lower Vertebrae & Shoulder in Red Bull Rampage Crash

 This can’t be overstated!

 @marcencinitas I know you mean well, but maybe read the room and don’t lecture a man who just needs support right now. Love and healing vibes TVS

 @talhaslam: second. Get strong TVS and get back to doing what you love! Thoughts going out.

 Well said, what a guy! Bet redbulls retirement scheme is not glamorous

 I think there's a point to consider here. Is the money from Rampage worth the risk? If the winner could ride away with enough money to retire, that's one thing - but the prize purse for an event with risks like this is nowhere near commensurate. Redbull (and other sponsors) either need to massively up the payout, or consider changing the risk/hazard of the event. It's great for us to watch, but seeing what's happened to those unfortunate few who have had serious injury just doesn't seem justifiable.

 @ratedgg13: funny you say that considering this event is Red Bulls best preforming event, even compared to when Felix jumped from space. Wonder what he received?

 @ratedgg13: I suspect these guys choose to MTB b/c they love riding bikes...it sucks but nobody chooses a career in mountain biking to get rich. We all get injured riding bikes at some point, because we love riding bikes. Prime example a number of my riding buddies had pretty gnarly injuries / fractures / surgeries this year, none are getting paid for riding except the occasional local race win...we all just love riding bikes and brings us great adventure, happiness and escape. All that said...of course these riders should get paid more (redbull has $$) but risk is part of the sport.

 As much as I’ve loved Rampage over the years, maybe it’s time to say they’ve pushed this about as far as it needs to go, and it’s time to say farewell to the event.

The consequences are so high. We don’t need to be entertained this way at that cost.

 @nsteele: Would need rider input but maybe transition to a FEST / Redbull Formation session format to eliminate weather/wind and the risk associated with one-run 'pack all the tricks in' format. But these guys are pushing nonstop all year long, there's just no way to eliminate injuries.

The riders should get together and decide how they want the event to look going forward.

 I hear what you’re saying but nobody is holding a gun to these guys heads. They do it for the love / thrill of the sport.

As gnarly as it is they know full well what they are getting into and choose to do so. No different to and F1 or moto GP driver.

Man I know if I was I had the skills to compete at this level I’d be there like a shot.

Fair play to TVS, that was an insane run, I’d rather he made it to the bottom and in full health but it wasn’t his day. Healing vibes brother hope you make a full recovery!

 @ratedgg13: a doubt if you ask any of the competitors their motivation to ride rampage is the purse available

 @Billjohn6: I think the ultimate rider input is them deciding for themselves to compete.

 I remember hearing a couple of riders opinions in interviews about 10 years ago. There was concern over the reward being too large at rampage (and events in general). I love seeing what these guys can do on bikes, and have heaps of respect for them. But I don't like seeing how many pretty brutal crashes happened here, and this season in general. I don't like seeing the industry push so hard and put so much pressure on the riders. I want to see guys progressing at a pace that they want to do it at, because there are some super skilled, competitive, and creative riders right now. They are way better at riding their bikes when they aren't on a hospital bed. There's a carrot being dangled in front of the the riders and it isn't as good as it looks.

 Also, a predicament where the prize money/industry pressure seems too great, and the actual payout vs risk is not nearly what it should be.

 @ww27: what are you talking about? It's kind of disrespectful to the riders to say 'i want to see them progress at a pace they want to do it at'. Do you think they are all idiots and are throwing themselves off cliffs because Red Bull or the industry told them to? They do it because they are adrenaline junkies who love doing scary shit on their bikes. They know their limits (TVS bailing on the caveman is a good example of that). Accidents happen and they know the risks they are taking. You lot are talking like it's the hunger games or something.

 @Davec85: if that's what they want, then that is what they want. I'm just saying I hope it is not being pushed to fast for a wad of cash and no security. I realize it is high risk, and understand that these guys are completely wild on a bike regardless of whether or not it's for a camera/crowd. Huge props to these guys for the incredible stuff they are doing on bikes!

 Anyone knows how's Reed Bogg's cameraman? The one that tumbled down the ravine in an ATV.

 @Garpur44: the pay in F1 MotoGP somewhat bigger

 The issue with increasing prize money is: it would increase the risk athletes are willing to put in even more. Front flip off a huge drop for 25k? Most are saying nah not gonna do that. Increase the money to 500k and I bet many more would risk even more, and injuries increase. I think the opposite is better: everyone gets the same amount (yes more than now would be the least rb should do as it's a huge event drawing in millions of views etc) regardless of their points, so everyone does what they think they can do without injury. As amazing the winning runs are each year I hate watching people one-up the others while risking significant long term injuries. The human body is the only thing you really have in this life. It should not be worth to risk it for any money.

 @Davec85: I respect all these guys for the talent and balls they posses. I do not want to see any of them get hurt. But at the end of the day, these guys willingly choose to push the limits of free riding and progress. They are not forced into anything. They ride bikes for a living and if they are willing to ride off cliffs, than I am going to watch them do it, because I dont have the balls to do it myself.

 @ww27: while these guys certainly feel the pressure to perform, that’s coming internally. I could see when it was part of the fmb tour but as the event stands currently there isn’t a soul who doesn’t have the skills to be there or doesn’t truly want to be there.

Can’t have progression without failure. Tom has had several bad injuries and I don’t believe any of the others were at events.

 @Garpur44: What are you talking about, no different to F1 and moto GP?
Have you ever heard of F1/GP rider having to start a GoFundMe page or other forms of gathering money to pay for medical bills?
Financially, it's a whole different world!

 @talhaslam: I was thinking that tbh. Bit of a weird comment. Probably voted for the Trek in Rampages nicest bike vote too lol

 @Billjohn6:
I think the difference is the pressure on live TV with so many watching leads to bad decisions. If I see someone try a trick because they want to and they get hurt doing what they love, so be it. We all love a dangerous sport right? But this format makes you feel like a group of friends that pressures a buddy to try something that they might have skipped only to watch them get mangled.

 @Marcencinitas mad respect to Tom but I am with you on this one. I have been increasingly nervous of the increasing danger these guys face every year.

 @Garpur44: Ah mate - you show me a F1 race with that casualty list, ratio and injuries. I call BS on that analogy.

 Mate, everyday punters are getting way more fucked up than these dudes on your basic sunday trail head, for no cash, just because they like riding their bikes.

 @ratedgg13: I think you're off-base with your motivations. "ride away with enough money to reitre"? Semenuk has now won 4 times yet after every victory comes back; Many people here push their riding and I can assure you they don't think they're going to get a RB sponsorship. Why? There's obviously something very deep and fundamental that motivates people to ride bikes aggressively and I'm not convinced it's money or fame. TVS is very good at riding bikes and it's awesome that he can make a living doing it, but I'm pretty sure he'd still send it for free.

 @Billjohn6: The riders should get together and decide how they want the event to look going forward.

Kinda sounds like you just invented the FEST series, which we then sh!t all over because it wasn't exactly what we wanted.

 @Billjohn6: AMEN! Do what you love - RIDE ON! Get well soon TVS whatever your future holds.

 @Slabrung: where did you read that info?

 @ratedgg13: First off, best of luck with recovery Tom.

All of the Rampage shredders don’t need another reason to go all in for a lucrative purse.

Recognition from the biking community and their piers, possible endorsement and sponsorship but more so being part of pushing the sport is what they’re in Rampage for. It’s never been about the money and we all know that.

We also know that all of these phenomenal performances should be rewarded accordingly. If it would cost each of us $1.00 to watch Rampage, put it into a pot and divide it among ALL of these guys showing up, it would be a sign of gratitude from us to them.

Good luck Tom and thank you to everyone at Rampage for killing it!

 @FoesKnows: maybe in the 1950s

 @Number29: haha right! Your on your own.. Not to mention minimal pay as is for what they do.

 @talhaslam: Seems like he read the room fairly well.

 @nsteele: ya its nice to watch.. But honestly - as I get older I prefer to watch guys like Geoff Gulevich edits or Remys stuff.. Still very gnarly indeed.. But atleast it's in the realm of comprehension.. Lol

 @Garpur44: the difference is formula 1 drivers are paid handsomely.. Millions of dollars plus bonuses.. I get doing something for the love it.. But buy a certain age - the money needs to be there.. I don't care what your doing..

 Are you not entertained?

 I have SO MUCH RESPECT for the raw courage and talent of these riders. But the reality is, savage injuries come with a price.

I'm not a fan of Fox news, but here's an interesting article about the original bad ass, Evel Knievel.

www.foxnews.com/story/1970s-cultural-icon-evel-knievel-living-in-constant-pain

 @ratedgg13: Totally disagree with you here... Rampage doesn't need to become a squid game where money is such a big motivator that it starts messing with their risk assessment. Most of the riders out there are the ones that pushing the sport and the risks coming with that. They do that during Rampage as part of winning the title, but most of them also do it outside of any competition format, cause they are looking to push themselves.
I really hope that the answer on why they expose themselves to this will be: Cause they want to, cause they love what they are doing and not because: That's a whole lot of money.....
Doesn't mean that I don't feel like freeriders shouldn't earn more money... but if it has to come from somewhere, top up there yearly salaries if they perform creating content, repping brands, etc... Not a win everything or die Rampage format...

 @Jordanh604: I saw it first mentioned somewhere here on Pinkbike (can't find this article now), then found more details here. No info anywhere else, so fingers crossed it's just a mistake or fake news:

www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2021/10/13/jmr-2-taken-to-hospital-following-separate-incidents-at-red-bull-rampage-venue-in-virgin/#.YWsuSdrRaf0

 My concern is that these guys have pushed the envelope so far that kids who want to ‘make it’ in the sport now have to go even bigger.

A lot of these guys learned to ride pre-instagram, they weren’t constantly bombarded with ‘sick edits’ and they weren’t trying to outdoor the next guy for likes/views etc…

 Looking at rampage thought about gladiators fighting lions and felt like a stupid spectator. Too many broken bones to be a show. More than an all wcdh season broken riders.

 Sage advice. He's already going to feel the impact of those injuries for the next 60yrs.

 @stubestrong: and we also designed things that let them hit things at ridiculous speeds and walk away,

 or take a few minutes to watch this and know he's just doing what he loves www.youtube.com/watch?v=yddRSxhuhWc

 @nsteele: we’ll said and I agee.

 @chummyweim: 50ft sending routine?

 @GBlanco: I mean the thing that got him hurt was the jump and trick he's probably done thousands of times and thousands more in his sleep. If there's anything for the armchair people to get from the accident it's that even jumps or trails we take for granted having cleared them fine many times still pose a risk whether we like it or not. Maybe everyone should stop mountain bike riding too!

 @chummyweim: Almost 30% of riders suffered major injuries this edition. Don't you think it's too much?

 @daweil: what about your countryman Timo Pritzel who gapped the first crankworx whistler cabin for what, a $500 prize purse and broke his ankle in the process.
Progression over income still remains a priority with many top tier athletes.

 @GBlanco: that’s a totally different convo. I’m just saying TVS overshooting a jump at the bottom of the course isn’t the Rampage boogeyman people are making it out to be.

 It would be cool to see them all getting paid $100k with the winner getting a designer trophy.

 There’s plenty of unknown guys out there climbing mountains during dangerous conditions for no money at all. You even have a guy climbing El Capitan without any rope/protection without anyone forcing him. People will always seek adventures irrespective if they are getting paid or not. Red bull rampage is just a modern take on getting first to the South Pole.

 @Isey: is there a worldwide advertising platform for rock climbing an F1 car might be to some the pinnacle of tech but really theyre just hogh speed advertising boards

 live life the way you want, not the way youre afraid of, or youre not really living to its potential. with great risk comes great reward, money isnt everything to freeriders, its about the send.

 @ajayflex: yes, and often hang up their helmets, cash in their chips, leave the sport because they decide it ain’t worth it anymore.

 @Isey: You're correct however the competition aspect may push people to take risks that they wouldn't if they were just doing it for themselves. The question becomes when do consumers of the content decide that they don't want to watch anymore. Despite being very excited for the event I certainly struggle turning on something like Rampage knowing I quite literally might watch someone die.

 @friendlyfoe: I get your point. I would watch it anyway. Even if someone was likely to die. I mean, it's entertainment isn't it?

 @jaame: Yeah I don't find that entertaining, but I also don't enjoy watching UFC. Different strokes.

 @juanny: yep.. And then u hit 35 and ur like - wheres that loot....

 @friendlyfoe: I don't want to see anyone die, but I wouldn't not watch it because I might see it.

 @nsteele:
exactly how I feel. I stopped watching after paul's crash, and it was a mistake to tune in again. I don't want to see people get hurt. all the best to tom, I hope he makes a full recovery

 @carmens: good thing you guys were never into flat track racing in the 80s

 Totally agree, this is same sentiment that was round when paul bassagaoita had his crash and there was the #f**krampage hashtags.

 @jaame: bet you watched squid game tho

 I think that is sound advice. I'm hoping for the best for this guy but you unfortunately never (typically) fully get over injuries like that. Breaking hip sockets = early onset Osteoarthritis and feeling like your way older than you are when your 40.

 @ratedgg13: just out of curiosity what do you think the prize money should be? And how deep should it go? Just curious what people think.

 @greener1: This is the absolute truth and I have only had knee injuries.. Even that, I notice years later just spinning pedals
. Especially when the weather changes... I can only imagine what some of these guys will feel.

 Super lame and you are a total pussl Brian Lopes would smoke you.

 @THROO001: Separate from prize money there should be a decent appearance fee to cover expenses and dig teams. This is an invite-only event with a small field. 10-20K per rider would be a completely reasonable starting point.

 @notenduro: i 100% agree. and I know what they make and their appearance fee is below that...

 Ditto, been checking PB and other news outlets all day for good news!

 @jomacba: an award for the worst crash. You must be on drugs. How stupid can this be?

 @robmarini-jet: I can see it’s an unpopular opinion, but likely because your not looking at it from the same perspective.
I don’t see why it’s a negative thing to acknowledge the sacrifice of personal safety to try and achieve something spectacular.
So many people make comments like “Oh your gonna hurt when your older” this and that. Look at Cam Zink, your telling me that guy isn’t hurting every day? So if that’s the case, then why does he still do it? It’s the pursuit of something bigger. Sure most of us can go through our lives and avoid injury, and never experience greatness. Rampage is a place where legends are born.
We give Semenuk, Sorge, and Boggs praise because they stomped a clean run. Great, I think that’s amazing. What else is amazing, is the athletes that get injured in the sport they love, and despite this, they continue to push the limits of what’s humanly possible.
So while you think I’m after a crash highlight reel, I am in fact supporting the riders who are truly pushing the limit. The flat drop front flip was legendary, and the crash that followed was gnarly, and I think it’s only fair to recognize what Tom achieved was badass, rather than seeing a 0 on the scoreboard for an incomplete run, his attempt should be celebrated.

 I thought he broke his neck for sure. So gnarly to watch and the eerie silence after. Creepy. Get well TVS!

 @jomacba: They specific do/did. Zink won the Toughness Award and Brage won the McGazza Spirit Award

 @plyawn: and TVS won the best trick award, for a trick that happened just before his crash.

 @hypa: Correction sir! It's 103... If this was golf, I'd have you all beat. Honestly I'm okay with people disagreeing with my perspective. They are fully entitled to their opinion, as I am. We can kindly agree to disagree. I personally think however, people tend to read bits and pieces of things without taking the time to understand perspective. I for one doing down vote ever, as I think it's really counterproductive.

 @jomacba: like evel kinevel

 @jomacba: I hear you on the risk vs reward sacrifice to do something spectacular. The problem is that the risk is just a hypothetical one until it happens and then your perspective often changes. Cam Zink has had his fair share of injuries yes, but never (to my knoweldge) crushed two hip sockets. You don't come back 100 percent from this and I dare say that people (very) often feel regret for sacrificing personal safety after something really bad happens. Perhaps not immediately, but a few years later after they have a little more evolved perspective.

 @greener1: I agree with you on this, however to add to your point, it falls under an "is what it is" scenario. By no means and I suggesting the pursuit of personal injury, and as the commentators said prior to him looking to attempt a caveman, it's all calculated risk. In terms of evolved perspective, that's all subjective. What one person may feel, does not reflect what another does. This topic thread is a prime example of that diversity. As a rider who has experienced significant injury in the past, and is plagued by a constant reminder of it on a daily basis, I can tell you that my personal perspective is that I wouldn't change it if I could. It's part of the journey of life. Probably another unpopular opinion, and I don't share the same significance of injury as Tom here, so I can only speak for myself, but I can also say I understand why these guys take the risk and do what they do, I think it's fair to acknowledge the significance of all of it, not just the positives and show collectively support to a downed fellow rider. Again, it appears a large majority of people seem to disagree with that perspective, and I'm not sure why to be honest, but I respect people's opinions.

 @mitch1616:

Except you are looking at 40-60 years in pain with limited function if you destroy your body in your 20’s. That’s a very long time.

 @pcledrew: Let's not put that energy out there.

 @blackthorne:

 Totally agree. 48 y/o and feeling all the abuse & neglect from my 20s. Time will catch up to all of us and it's scary AF.

 Agreed. My dirt bike riding buddy is 65 and still shreds! I look at him and think "man I'm only halfway there, I need to take care of myself".

 @blackthorne: yo man, this is a thread to pass on healing vibes.

 @mitch1616: what you tell yourself will most likely change as you age

 @lastminutetech

I hear that man.. Im in the same boat.. At the point where I've even learned to enjoy road and gravel grinding on the cyclocross.. Stretching and resistance training just to keep the old injuries at bay... It all helps but your never 100% again really.

 do any of you guys realize that @mitch1616 was a successful pro slopestyle rider? dont trash the only one here who knows what its like. classic PB

 @bohns1: Screw road riding, some text-messaging teen will run ya over. But long 'cross bike rides, absolutely. Even maybe cross-country! Fat biking on snow fields!

If life could somehow evenly distribute wisdom and youthful enthusiasm we'd all be happier. On the backside of two significant life-altering crashes whenever I hear, "well at least he/she got wadded up doing what they loved" I just shake my head, because at some point its not true, its better to walk normally or not be in pain, or be alive and not dead. But I can't expect the balance of the world's 20-somethings to understand this, yet.

 @twozerosix: my road riding is mostly on a bike path commute 21k each way to and from my job. So I'm safe that way.. Agree on the texting and driving idiocy tho.. Mtb is safer than real road riding lol... Working on getting my first fat bike for this winter tho..

 @twozerosix: Ya I laugh at that as well.. My good friend died in a snow mobile avalanche at 29.. I no for a fact he'd much rather be here alive than dying doing what he loved... No question

 @twozerosix: Not that you don't make totally valid points about living life without hampering injuries BUT, to say it's better to be alive than not, is impossible to prove. Maybe it's awesome on the other side and waaaaaay better than here? Maybe it's hell? Maybe it depends entirely on the choices we make with the character resources we have had? Maybe it's nothing at all?
One thing we know is that most of us are not too much in a hurry to find out....but we all will. Exciting or scary?
Peace

 @sonuvagun: point conceded, can't know that. But the suffering one's loss or even loss of capacity leaves on the people around you should be considered too. I'm just now kind of 'getting' this.

 @twozerosix: and on that your point is worth more.

 Yep there can be a lot of complications after such major injuries, anyone whos getting older can also testify most injuries come back to haunt you when you get older too. Reminded me of Paul Bas and Logan Bingelli in previous events, both life changing crashes as well

 My brother had femur and hip injuries like this from a car crash about 20 years ago. He has never recovered fully and is nearly crippled now. You are spot on.

 Man so gnarly. My buddy relayed similar info to me earlier, I didn’t really appreciate the severity of this.

 I'm not an MD but studied injury biomechanics and it was my understanding that acetabular fractures like this are normally caused my massive compressive forces delivered into the hip sockets along the femurs, like in a huge automotive frontal crash where the knees hit the dashboard.

The shoulder is the only part of the injuries that seems to match the OTB impact and makes me wonder if his hip sockets and femoral injury were on the initial compression (landing) before he got bucked.

Either way I'm hoping for miraculous recovery for TVS who has proven before he's superhuman.

 Squid Page. Without the big payout.

 @tsn73: wouldn't you tear your achilles or slip the pedals before such forces could reach you hip bones?

 @tsn73:

I’m an ortho MD and you’re right most classical acetabular fractures or femoral dislocations like those in motor vehicle collisions happen either when the knee hits the dashboard or the person has their foot on the brake. The position of the hip at the time of impact results in certain types of fracture patterns. However, there are multiple positions the hip can be in… extended, flexed, internally or externally rotated and this would result in a different fracture pattern. A CT scan would give us a clue as to the mechanism of injury, but what we ultimately see is people don’t follow the textbook and all sorts of things can happen, as in this case. I would venture to guess that as he impacted the ground is where it shattered into multiple fragments.

 @duplex: Thanks. I wish I didn't even comment and just kept my thoughts to myself. I guess the main thing I was trying to say is that I definitely did not expect to see that injury pattern based on having seen the fall. I was way more worried about cervical spine and shoulder/collarbone. It is just so weird to see both hips injured like that.

All the best to TVS.

 I'm feeling like, unless Redbull steps up to alter the event to a less risky format, this will be the last one I ever watch.

 Seriously.. that crash made me impulse close the tab...

I'm not a doctor, but I have some ER docs as friends, and one of them said of hip injuries: "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." And that was related to hip dislocations, as described they take a ton of force to actually occur. The fact that he broke the sockets into pieces... holy hell.

I hope he's able to make a full recovery, but good lord I fear it will be a hard path...

 Price to pay for the love of it!!! Stay strong Tom!

 Hes not doing it for fame, hes doing it because its what he loves and is willing to die for

 @joshroppo: i broke my hip into several pieces. The pain was indescribable. I would wish it on my worst enemy.

 @lognar: All this to provide a moment's entertainment for a bunch of folks drinking beer in front of the TV - who will forget about TVS as soon as they flip the channel.
RBR is the worst kind of dumb shit for the mob. PB shouldn't even bother reporting on it

 @revolt: agreed. Nobody is willing to die for anything. This isn’t a battlefield, this isn’t Hollywood. This is walking to the corner store to buy some milk, becomes a challenge. Insane line, huge risk, but man that’s gotta be some serious inflection.

 @joshroppo: Bo Jackson, probably one of the greatest athletes of his generation, had a hip injury less severe than this and it put him into early retirement. Football and baseball are different than mountain biking obviously, but it's nothing to be taken lightly.

 @tigerfish50: TVS didn’t give a f*ck about anyone sat at gone drinking beer!

He just wanted to send the biggest run he was capable of laying down.

These boys don’t do this for our entertainment they do it to push them selves and the sport.

If here was no cameras / prize money they’d still be out there sending it

 @gravityfreak: (creasing emoji)

 @funkyjim: Bo Jackson’s injury was a bit a freak thing though. He dislocated his hip on the field and it popped right back in. The injury want that severe itself but it was unknown at the time that an artery has gotten pinched in the hip when it popped back in, which slowly cut off the blood supply to his hip joint causing the bone to start dying. His was more a case of mis diagnosis.

 Well said

 @gravityfreak: Hypothetically speaking, or are there actually people you hate that much? (Rhetorical question btw)

 @Garpur44: I disagree! While they may have done this on their own- the contest pushes them to do it then and now. TVS was obviously sketched out up top and without the contest probably would have waited until another day.

 @tigerfish50: oh how very correct you are... Sad but true for the most part.

 @tigerfish50: I'm 100% sure you have NO idea at all about a freeriders passion.

 Can you explain what cervical spine injury is? He did break one of the lower vertebrae. Can't imagine what he's going through. Truly a nightmare crash.

 As a spinal cord injury survivor, I definitely thought that was the case as well. All I wanted to do when I couldn’t feel my legs was roll over. And that’s what I saw today.
This injury is still super heavy, and life-threatening as a two sided pelvic injury, but damn am I happy it’s not spinal!
[I’m fused at t2-t8 and luckily very functional]

 @lepigpen: Cervical means the top seven vertebrae in your spine.
Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum, coccyx
www.google.com/search?q=spine+anatomy&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS873US874&oq=spine+&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l3.4590j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=URTd9_DQLSZQFM

 @snomaster: Ah, thank you. Crazy that plenty of people walk away from lower vertebrae incidents but when you get serious damage up top... It's just a savage roll of the dice. I'm still blown away by how Remy Morton rides full blast these days after his Malmedy accident.

 Not to minimize your hard-earned medical education, but I think most of us thought spinal injury too and are grateful to learn otherwise!

 As a human, I thought that was vomit inducing.

 @lepigpen: I have c5-7 fused from a bike accident, full function and 99% mobility now but it’s not going to keep improving as I age. If you can find a diagram of the nervous system you can see how nerves go from the upper extremities to the mid and higher cervical vertebrae. If you damage the ones at the top it will jack up organ function, like lungs and diaphragm.

 Yes, better not to see more rampage, this went too far of a simple show, and the red bull company care about helth or life secure of the athlets?

 15* qualified. Lacondeguy, Storch, and Vestavik were out before finals, and Zink did go on to compete.

 I'm at an academic trauma center and see a lot of high-energy orthopaedic trauma and I was quite surprised to find out that he had bilateral acetabular fractures. It is rare, and as DocT mentioned below, it can be quite a severe injury. The surgeons which I work with are highly trained and proficient in the realm of pelvic/acetabular trauma, but even then there are just certain fracture patterns that make for often long and complicated surgery. Again, like most have commented, truly fortunate he did not sustain an upper cervical or traumatic brain injury the way his head took the impact. Wishing TvS the best in his recovery!

 Well, actually I think that is part of the problem. Back in the day, riders used what was there, rough run-ins, not much of a landing at all. But guys like Bender got away with a huck and pray approach on 50foot drops, because what they cased to was a large pile of forgiving red dust. Nobody would have tried to land huge flips on that.

Nowadays they build this huge slope style jumps with huge, ultra smooth landings. Takes them days to build those, all the time compacting the dirt, watering it, compacting it again, ending up with something smooth as concrete - and just as hard and unforgiving.

Locals used to jump off these rocks, landing a few meters below and laughing their ass off, because the sand just gave way, and they didn’t hurt themselves. I think that was part of what made that region attractive as a rampage site in the first place. Taking unlikely drops wherever possible and getting away with it.

Now it’s about back(and front)flipping giant man made obstacles, and nobody gets away anymore if they make a mistake.

 @FuzzyL: Couldn’t agree more.

 I don't think people complain it's tame, but that becomes close to another discipline (which is also badass).
And as many point out, manicured landings are safer when compared to raw landings on same sized features. But as they are safer, they encourage riders to go bigger, giving a false sense of security. But when something goes wrong, you can't cheat physics - a crash on a bigger feature will be more dangerous than in a small one.

 @Slabrung: exactly right.

 @FuzzyL: 100% correct on this. It's just like downhill tracks getting faster and more groomed causing bigger injuries. The natural riding of before forced riders to hit smaller features with lesser consequences. The "slopestyle" hardpack landings and emphasis on tricks is making this event muc more dangerous

 @FuzzyL: "locals used to jump off these rocks..... A few meters" lol

The reason rampage is held where it is because you don't find geography anything like that anywhere in the world. There are almost no plants to clear or avoid and just about every single cliff is doable because they're is a slope on the other side.

Every body keeps talking about Rampage without actually being there and experiencing the terrain. I hate to gate keep, but if you haven't been to Virgin, people shouldn't be taking about the terrain.

 @FuzzyL: also TVS hurt himself carrying way too much speed into a jump, not messing up a trick in a massive feature.

 Yeah you want to see him crush more Rampages in the future but the reality is Rampage crushed any chance of that in the future. With these injuries he will never recover well enough to ride these events or possibly even ride a regular pedal bike again.

Was it worth it?

 @lifeofloon: totally agree. full recovery is, unfortunately, not realistic. too sad...

 @lifeofloon: as a veterinary surgeon I won’t pretend to know what a realistic prognosis for return to athletic function in humans look like but I am well aware of the chronic handicap bilateral severe acetabular trauma would have in an animal even with meticulous fixation. I simply think that as has been discussed before a lot of the drive to do these events comes from within for these riders and I’d like to hope he reads these comments and can derive some positive mindset.

 @lifeofloon: and while a completely different injury, don’t forget that we HAVE seen some completely unforeseen injury recoveries recently for 2020 as well (Brook McDonald!)

 @lifeofloon: You came here to be a smart-ass or to give support to TVS?
If there's one thing I've learned being a doctor, it's that you hardly ever say 100% in medicine.
Give the guy some time, he might surprise you.
Paul Bas was not supposed to ride again and yet - he does (e-bike or not, he rides bikes again, there were even some vids of him jumping).
Bulldog - racing again, at the very top level.
Dan Atherton, most probably Gee - not yet, but he's on his way. T-Mac - competing at the top after a nasty dragging injury. Just a few examples off the top of my head.
Sure, not all of them came back to what they did before, but with Tom it's just too early to say. Give it time. All these guys are beasts, and the very best patients when it comes to rehabilitation. They always do absolutely anything to get back to full strength, and they usually do it faster than most patients.
So, Tom, if you're reading this: get well, take all the time you need, YOU GOT THIS.

 @lifeofloon @DocT: Well well well, let's see...
A year has passed, and look who's competing in Rampage 2022... Oh yeah, it's Tom Van Steenbergen!
I guess sometimes it IS better to keep your opinion to yourself

 totally agree. i just hope that redbull, with all the money they have make sure someone like Tom who probably just has travel medical insurance are completely taken care of. If you invite athletes from around the world to the states for a competition of this scale, you better be forking out the dough to make sure they get the medical attention and rehab they need.. which i don't know if they are?

 I didn’t see anything to suggest that. Most guys used similar lines to the ones they used the previous two times. On top of that when you look at Tom’s run the “going bigger” part was the front flip which he landed perfectly. His crash happened on what looked like a relatively small jump just doing a straight backflip, which he’s probably pulled 1000x.

 My first thought was: omg they let dogs in hospitals now? Times have changed. Isn't it considered unhygienic?

 I don't think that's the case @b45her . Tommy G's run had four 360's and a backflip and scored lower than Kyle Strait's run with a single backflip and a no-hander. The judges factor in the degree of difficulty and risk based on the lines they ride.

 @revolt: What’s 100% false and dangerous thinking???

 @kmsafety: dont mind him, he's just necked a can of monster and is getting all his frustrations out.

 @kmsafety: I dont know if the guys is being a troll, but I kinda want to stick my neck out there and agree with him. Elite Athletes tend to have more grid than regular people which can play a big factor in the rehabilitation process, but calling them af different breed is going a bit far. Fracturing both sockets is pretty severe and rare, and will make the rehabilitation more challenging. And it´s definitely not unlikely that he needs total hip replacements, which is super early to get at his age. Also he didn't fail safely, yes he didn't land head first, but that doesn't make it a safe fail at all. Miracles can happen which is the case with Paul bass, but these guys aren't super human.

 @lassemj: I said they were all winners and are competent to handle these risks. They do fail safely all the time as they did in this event. Did not say they were super human, but was only using a figure of speech describing that there are very few in the world who can compete at this level without catastrophic loss of life or long term disability. They are pros and are risk competent. They are pushing the level like so many other countless athletes. Also, I have over 25 years of experience as a practitioner and scholar in safety engineering, public health and safety, risk engineering, etc., with demonstrated success, and conducted investigation of fatalities and serous injuries to assess the casual factors and causes that led to the incident and how to prevent it from recurring or to reduce the risk to as low as reasonably possible. I’ve worked for Fortune 500 companies and know of several colleagues who have walked into a large manufacturing plants that was shut down because of an employee fell into a grinder, electrocution in the burns centers where the electricians bones were still burning days after the incident, etc., etc., etc., fatalities worse than on the battlefields. I worked alongside many different types of professionals, retired military special forces, etc, in teams. I digress. Like many sports, e.g., big wave surfing, they have learned from their mistakes, e.g., they use jet ski assist, flotation vest and the training they do throughout the year(s) is indescribable, the costly hours of sacrifice to surf one wave or catch one swell.

Everyone involved in this incident with Tom will improve the safety of the event or let’s hope they will. Several guys/gals in this article have made some great points that maybe it’s time to end Rampage before they have a fatality, but how many of them are competent enough to make that decision in comparison to the riders, the teams, medical staff, etc., who know the risks way more than we ever will… Hopefully, they will improve the safety of this event.

I’ve been riding MTB for over 25 years and have seen some crazy stuff and serious disabling injuries, but most of us know the risks and can’t stop riding. There are some double black trails I will not ride anymore because of serious over the handlebars that could have led to a serious injury or death, yea I’m competent enough to ride it but it’s too much of a risk for me; and my buddies oftentimes ride it without me and I meet them on the other end.

People are not the problem to control, but the solution to harness. The Rampage team and riders need to continue to build a learning culture.

 @kmsafety: well said

 Same ! Happy to hear that he can recover from that one. Vinny T crash was very scary too. Stange vibe on this rampage. These guys are brave

 Sending prayers and best wishes from Calgary Alberta too TVS. And Canmore. We all love you. Canadian legend.