After suffering a head injury during the second round of competitions in Down Puerto Vallarta, Franz Grossmann, Austrian competitor, was declared in serious but stable condition in a Puerto Vallarta hospital.
On Sunday, April 30, the international rider crashed while descending at full speed on an area of stairs. He was immediately immobile and needed the support of paramedics, who transferred him by ambulance.
As the hours passed, his conditioned improved, and on Tuesday May 2 he was updated to stable, with signs of improvement and under the care of a specialized group of doctors in Puerto Vallarta.
Grossmann’s family traveled from Europe to Jalisco to accompany him during his recovery process. The first report pointed to a brain contusion that led to a coma, but with the passage of time, the conventional care for brain disinflammation was made.
Before the accident, Grossmann had run the same course at least twice, like the other competitors, without incident.
“I can not wait to go even faster today, including some crazy trick at the end – I can not wait for today’s race,” Franz wrote through his official Instagram profile in the hours before hitting the concrete wall.
The competition started from Cerro de la Cruz and culminated in the Malecon of Puerto Vallarta. In addition to the Grossmann, two other competitors were injured, although not seriously. Mexican riders Farid Andonie and Ricardo Peredo did not complete the competition and were transferred to local hospitals.
“Accidents are common in urban downhill cycling,” explained the organizer of the event through a statement on the three cases mentioned above.
