School of hard knocks just part of a racer’s sporting life

Duncan Jones was knocked unconscious in a fall off his mountain bike soon after he took up the sport.

The 22-year-old from Glasgow, who works in a cycle shop, said that about four years ago he was cycling downhill at the Nevis range of trails when his front wheel suddenly stopped.

About 30 seconds, later he came to with vomit in his helmet, three broken ribs on one side and two on the other.

He said: “It was not really rider error. I have not had any lasting effects. That was a practice for a race the next day – I still raced, hopped up on painkillers.

“Me and several other of my mates have knocked ourselves out on various occasions. One guy was knocked out for three days with a concussion and another mate lost a lot of his memory for six months – you just keep going.”

Mr Jones added: “I always knew I would get injured. But I got more and more into the sport and I work full-time in the industry, so injury has never put me off in the slightest.

“To progress, you need to try things that might be higher than your skill level. As the risk increases, so does the skill level.”