Pain vs Reward

With the sport of downhill mountain biking getting faster every year, the riders are faced with new injuries that come with pushing the limits. The sport's elite talk about the risks and how they deal with the pain that comes when things go wrong.

The abuse DH mountain bikers' bodies take in the course of a year is enough to make anyone question their sanity. Their feet and knees, especially, take a beating, but training and science help make recovery better and faster than ever.

When a mountain biker falls, the arms and hands are the first line of defence in cushioning the body from impact. This leads to a high number of injuries in those areas, and for a pro rider, that can mean the difficult choice to end a season early.

Broken collarbones go with downhill mountain biking like tree roots and tyre size debates. The athletes and the professionals who treat their injuries weigh in on the most common injury in the sport and how to recover from it.

For a downhill mountain biker, protection is a balancing act. Too much can hamper performance, but too little can mean injuries that end seasons, or worse. This is no truer than with the athlete's trunk, which is vulnerable, yet difficult to protect.

Despite mountain biking helmets being safer than ever before, head injuries still occur and can have serious neurological consequences. So how do you reduce the risk after multiple crashes? Top riders, including Gee Atherton, explain.