Very sad news here. On the eve of his own event (pretty much!), the Red Bull Hardline, Dan Atherton has broken his scapula (shoulder blade) in three places. Check it all out here in the press release:

Dan Atherton sidelined for Red Bull Hardline

Dan Atherton will not be riding at this weekend’s Red Bull Hardline with Jeep, the course that he designed at stunning Dinas Mawddwy and has spent the vast majority of the last three months building.

Dan had a fall while testing the course and has fractured his scapula.

Dan said “ My whole life in mountain-biking has been about pushing my limits, Hardline has been a way to express this progression both in the building and the riding. Unfortunately progression doesn’t come without consequences, I crashed out on one of the big hip jumps and fractured my scapula into three pieces.

What we’re doing at Hardline is combining the elements of Freeride, BMX and Downhill, we’re essentially pioneering a new sport so judging your speed as you come into a BMX style jump at Downhill speed and scale is hard.

I feel like I’ve taken the hits for the other riders, needless to say we’ve changed the jump, a couple of the guys have tested it and jumped it clean, I’m pretty gutted not to be riding with all the boys, but that’s the price we pay for pushing so hard. Stoked to see you all down there at the weekend.”

We all wish Dan the speediest possible recovery.