No, we're not showing Adolf Silva's horror fall here. If you want to see it, you'll find it. Adolf "Loco" Silva wanted to jump a double backflip from a 28-metre drop, couldn't quite finish the second rotation and remained motionless after the fall.

In the last few days, he has already been busy posting photos from the hospital on Instagram. At the weekend, the Spaniard published his first video statement. Sitting in an electric wheelchair and seemingly in a good mood, he lists his injuries: two broken thoracic vertebrae - T2 and T3 - the following three thoracic vertebrae are dislocated, the sternum is also broken as well as six ribs. He says nothing more about his spinal cord than that it has been injured, with the result that he has no feeling from his chest down.

You never know what the future and the hard work that now lies ahead of him will bring, he explains in a mixture of acceptance and fighting spirit. The fact is, the 28-year-old Spaniard is currently paraplegic. Those close to him have already launched a donation campaign to finance the major expenses he now faces - from therapy to the renovation of his home. The aim is to raise half a million dollars. Nothing is known about the freeride pro's insurance cover. But the short notice with which this crowdfunding was set up suggests that it is not too large.

Silva's situation is reminiscent of Paul "Bas" Basagoitia, who also crashed so badly at Red Bull Rampage in 2015 that it took him years to learn to walk and cycle again. He has since returned to hiking, completed a half marathon while Nordic walking and rides trails on his e-mountain bike. According to Bas, he now lives completely independently. However, he is still a long way from the athlete he once was.

Adolf Silva wants to show what a spinal cord injury means

Adolf Silva promises in his clip that he will publish a video every Friday. He wants to show what such an injury means - "much more than being in a wheelchair". The hope resonates that he will be able to present a recovery process. However, he also seems prepared to no longer be able to walk or ride a bike on two legs without support.

Adolf Silva's crash and other serious crashes that have occurred during Red Bull Rampage 2025 - several women have also been seriously injured - once again raise the question of whether the spectacle in the Utah desert is still justified in this form. It is obvious that the riders themselves want the contest in this form and, by building their own lines, also determine how dangerous it is. It is also clear from the fact that they decided to continue the competition after first Adolf Silva and then Emil Johansson were taken away by helicopter. 

It is no doubt clear to every participant that a mistake in the wrong place can mean a life in a wheelchair. It's the same for ski racers and Formula 1 drivers. But the show will go on. Unless the protagonists themselves refuse to put their lives on the line.