Richard Branson claims “body armour is a must” for cyclists after latest crash

Richard Branson has claimed that “body armour is a must” for cyclists, after the billionaire businessman crashed “hard” while cycling in the British Virgin Islands recently, leaving him with a haematoma on his hip and a nasty elbow graze.

Earlier this week, the Virgin Group co-founder – no stranger to a heavy cycling crash – posted on Instagram that he took “quite a big tumble” after hitting a pothole during a ride on Virgin Gorda, “resulting in another hematoma on my hip and a nasty cut elbow, but amazingly nothing broken”.

“I’m counting myself very lucky, and thankful for keeping myself active and healthy. After all, the brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all!” the 73-year-old wrote.

> Richard Branson bloodied by cycling crash after hitting pothole and falling "hard"

And then, in a rather unexpected turn of events, an email from Virgin landed in road.cc’s inbox on Tuesday evening, containing an expanded edition of Branson’s reflections on his latest spill, along with “some safety tips for fellow cyclists”.

“A few things I’ve learnt since my cycling accident, thanks to my trainer Kat for the help,” the British business mogul wrote.

“Elbow and hip body armour is a must. Quite a few people over the years have asked me if I had to wear chainmail when I was knighted. Thankfully I didn’t, and cycling armour is a whole lot less clunky!”

 

 

 

 

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He continued: “It turns out I’ve been holding the handlebars wrong when going downhill! I was holding my fingers and thumbs on top of the handle, so when I hit the pothole, I bounced right off.

“Hold your thumb firmly around the handlebar for the best possible grip. I’ve realised that a lot of cyclists (dyspraxic or not) don’t know this, which is why I’m posting about it.

“Anyway, time to get back on the bike. I had a wonderful ride today with a bunch of the team on Necker – accident free!”

Branson’s tips were also accompanied by another Instagram post, in which the 73-year-old, along with personal trainer Kat, can be seen sporting his newly acquired elbow and hip pads, as well as a useful illustration of where he believes he was going wrong with his hand placement on the bars.

> Sir Richard Branson hospitalised after “colossal” bike crash

This week’s surprise edition of ‘cycling safety tips with Richard Branson’ isn’t the first time, however, that the businessman and knight of the realm has responded to a bike crash by offering some clothing advice to his fellow cyclists.

In 2021 he was hospitalised due to another “colossal” crash while taking part in an event on one of the Caribbean islands, after the gears on his bike apparently failed.

Describing the crash, which also brought down fellow cyclist Felix Stellmaszek, Branson said at the time: “We both fell off our bikes and our heads and bodies slammed into the concrete road. There is no question that wearing helmets saved our lives – not the first time that has been the case.”

Branson also advocated strongly for helmets – even suggesting the potential for face-protecting equipment for cyclists – after yet another spill in 2016, which saw the billionaire hit a speed bump during a nighttime training ride in the British Virgin Islands, fracturing his cheek and leaving his bike “completely destroyed” when it flew off the side of a cliff.

“The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes,” he said.

“I really thought I was going to die. I went flying head-first towards the concrete road, but fortunately my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life (however, perhaps they should build bike helmets that protect the side of the face too – does anyone know of one?).”

> Why is Dan Walker’s claim that a bike helmet saved his life so controversial?

Of course, Branson isn’t the first well-known figure to promote the use of helmets and other cycling safety gear in the wake of a nasty crash.

In February last year, Channel 5 presenter Dan Walker, somewhat unwittingly, attracted a social media backlash after claiming that a helmet “saved my life” when a motorist veered across into his lane on a busy roundabout in Sheffield, clipping him from behind, and sending him clattering to the ground.

Walker, who was left with a bloodied and bruised face following the collision, claimed on Twitter that a police officer and paramedics who attended the scene told him that he wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for his helmet, a revelation that prompted Walker to inform his social media followers to “get one on your head” when riding their bikes.

That arguably innocuous comment, made on the same day he suffered a serious crash, prompted some severe criticism from cyclists who felt that Walker’s emphasis on his helmet detracted from the dangerous driving that led to the collision and that, by urging others to wear helmets, he was “doing the heavy lifting for militant drivers” – a backlash the former BBC Breakfast host responded to in an article for the Sunday Times, in which he urged his fellow cyclists: “Don’t be a helmet. Wear a helmet”.