British mountain biker Dan Atherton has been given the all-clear to race again, following a horrific crash resulting in a broken neck last July.
Atherton broke the C1 disc in his neck while practicing on dirt jumps near his home in North Wales. It's taken him six months of rehabilitation to regain his strength. But on 20 January, a CT scan revealed that the injury has healed.
Dan's personal trainer, Red Bull's Darren Roberts, said: "The fractures have all healed and the tiny fragments of bone which are loose will be absorbed by the body over time, there was a slim possibility that an operation was required to remove these - but thankfully that op is not needed. More importantly Dr Bray said the words we've been waiting to hear since July 2010, 'you're good to go Dan, totally healed - get back on your bike and get riding hard. Try not to break it again'."
According to his Animal Commencal team, Dan Atherton is aiming to regain full fitness in time for the second round of the mountain bike world cup in Fort William, Scotland.
