A mountain bike rider competing at the Red Bull Rampage event in southern Utah has been airlifted to a local hospital after suffering a devastating crash.
Adolf Silva, a freestyle BMX rider, was navigating his bike along the red cliffs in Virgin, Utah – located between Zion National Park and the city of Hurricane in the southwest corner of the state near the Arizona border.
During his second run, after managing to get past some big drops and one section that commentators noted was particularly troublesome for him, Silva attempted to pull off a double backflip off a ledge.
The 28-year-old under-rotated, landing nearly horizontal with the ground as the front wheel of his bike went straight into the dirt.
Silva’s body then went over his handlebars and the rider landed head-first on the rocky surface before he flipped and slid over some distance down the grade.
A medical team immediately responded to administer first aid to Silva. A medical helicopter later arrived and he was transported.
WARNING: VIDEO BELOW CONTAINS DISTURBING IMAGES. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
BMX freerider Adolf Silva suffered a massive crash at the Red Bull Rampage event in Utah
Silva attempted a double backflip and landed on his head. He was evacuated by helicopter.
Silva (seen mid-air in 2024) has competed in the event on three prior occasions
On the broadcast, commentators were heard yelling ‘No, no, no’ as the trick was attempted.
After the crash, fellow rider and analyst Tyler McCaul said, ‘That was close to worst case scenario. We’ve been hearing rumors all week that that’s what he wanted to do. We’ve got one of the best medical teams in the world, they’ll take care of him.’
He added, ‘In my nearly 30 years of broadcasting, the heaviest crash and slam that I’ve ever seen.’
Another member of the broadcast said immediately after the wreck, ‘There was speculation all week that Adolf may go for a double backflip on that feature. We did not see him practice that at all this week because of the stakes of that trick.’
The accident took place at 12:51pm local time. After a 31 minute stoppage, the event resumed.
After the incident, Red Bull released a statement, saying, ‘Adolf is alert, conscious, and talking to loved ones. He is being transferred to the hospital for further evaluation.’
This was the fourth time that Silva competed in the event. He previously won the People’s Choice Award in his debut run in 2018.
His best finish in this event was eighth place in 2024.
Silva’s crash wasn’t the only big wreck of the day at the event.
Swedish rider Emil Johansson attempted a double tailwhip right out of the gate of his second run.
While he landed the trick, the impact caused him to rebound off the trail, sending him flying off the trail and down a steep rock face.
As his bike went careening down the cliff, Johansson managed to grab onto the side before he took a similarly steep tumble.
A Red Bull statement read, ‘Emil is alert and responsive. Due to the accident we will take a short break in the competition so safety and medical crews can attend to Emil in the safest possible manner.’
