Downhill Champ Rachel Atherton Hurt in Accident

Written by Tyler Benedict Jan 21, 2009 10:58 a.m. ET

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Rachel Atherton suffered a disclocated shoulder after colliding with a truck at the beginning of a ride Sunday afternoon with her brothers Dan and George.

Atherton said she was pedaling with her head down around a corner and looked up to see a pickup coming at her. Ã‚Â Both she and the truck swerved in the same direction, and Atherton hit the passenger side windshield.

Her team manager, Dan Brown, said her new Cervelo road bike took the brunt of the damage, which is fortunate, because she was reportedly NOT wearing a helmet…WTF?

According to California Highway Patrol, Atherton was at fault for the accident because she rode into the wrong lane. Ã‚Â Get the full story on The Mercury News.

Tyler Benedict

11,203 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

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jamie Lewis

15 years ago

I am the owner of the pick up that was involved in the accident. I am sure that being on the wrong side of the road was an honest mistake. how ever Rachel has made no attempt to contact me and has not returned several emails that I have written to her team website. In addition almost 2 months later and the CHP report is still not done due to their inability to obtain her contact information.
this was a mistake but it is her responsibility to pay for damages to my truck witch totaled in over 3,500$ that I can’t afford to fix and shouldn’t have to. She already admitted to her irresponsibility not wearing a helmet how about not paying for the damages she caused.