WINNER! THAT’S GOTTA HURT

Gavin Cushley opened his knee pretty spectacularly at Tollymore Forest Park in Northern Ireland. “I was out one afternoon getting a bit of coaching,” he explains. “After being shown through a particularly rough section by the coach, it came my turn to ride it. On the run-up I came o a fireroad and dropped down into a big drop-o full of roots. My front wheel slipped and I slid o the side of the bike, straight into a piece of right-angled paving stone that was sticking out of the ground. I was wearing knee pads, but they obviously weren’t enough, because the sharp edge went right down to the bone. After waiting for hours in the hospital, I was given an X-ray (nothing broken, at least!) and eight stitches, and was finally allowed to go home and feel sorry for myself. Suffice to say, I’ve since bought better knee pads!”