Press Release

Greg Minnaar Recovering After Enduro MX Crash 2

South Africa's Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) is recovering in hospital
after a crash at the weekend saw him break his collarbone, and have surgery on
his left leg for the treatment of blood clots that had formed after the
accident. The medical term for this injury to his leg is 'compartment syndrome'.


The multiple World Cup Champion was competing in a regional Hare
Scramble enduro event, about 45 minutes from his home town of Pietermaritzburg,
as part of his preparation for the Roof Of Africa Enduro scheduled for later
this month.

Greg started the event in 70th place and had moved up to 4th
by the end of the 3rd lap. On time, and given his handicap of passing people
from 70th, he was actually 2nd fastest and was set to start the last of 4 laps
in the 3 hour event, when he rounded a right hand corner and hit a concealed
rock that threw him over the bars and immediately onto his right shoulder,
breaking his collarbone.

Greg spoke today from hospital: "I knew it was
broken straight away, as soon as I landed. I was about 20km from the main start
finish area when it happened and I struggled to ride further round the lap until
I came to a marshal point. I left the bike there and got a lift to the hospital.
I didn't feel too bad and actually walked into the hospital. That's when the
doctors noticed my left thigh had swollen up to be 10cm thicker than my right
thigh. They rushed me into surgery and pulled out 3 massive blood clots, one was
the size of the doctor's fist!"

The doctors decided to leave the
incision open overnight and drain further fluid. More than 500ml was drained and
the doctors opted to operate again on Monday night to stitch up the muscle and
its casing. Presently Greg has a small drainage tube in his left leg, and the
doctors are keeping him under observation. The collarbone break is on the right
side, and fortunately his left shoulder which had reconstructive surgery at the
end of 2007 was not affected by the crash.

"It's so weird, I was able to
walk into the hospital and I have no recollection of hitting my leg in the fall.
Strangely, it's exactly the same place where I had deep bruising following my
crash at Mont-Sainte-Anne this year, so there may be some connection. The cut in
my leg at the moment is about 25cm and I am completely unable to move or walk
right now."

The doctors are very happy with Greg's muscles in his thigh
and they're keeping him in observation for at least another 24 hours. There are
no immediate plans for Greg to leave the hospital. Needless to say any plans to
repeat his efforts at the Roof Of Africa Enduro have been set aside. Once Greg
is released from hospital he expects to be on crutches for some time before
getting back onto a bike.

Follow Greg's tweets: www.gregminnaar.com

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