Mountain biker miraculously survives 65ft fall in French Alps

Lucky man: Jack Sims says he is "lucky to be alive" after surviving a 65ft drop in the French Alps
Jack Sims/JustGiving
Fiona Simpson29 July 2016

A young mountain biker has been left paralysed after falling down a 65ft cliff during a ride in the French Alps.

Jack Sims had been descending a 7,500ft mountain in Les Deux Alpes when he misjudged a jump, flew over his handlebars and dropped off a nearby ledge.

The 24-year-old fell 15ft and landed on his back, fracturing his upper spine. He then tumbled a further 50ft down a rockface, breaking ribs and puncturing a lung.

An emergency response team on the mountain called in an air ambulance.

Mr Sims, from Dorset, was winched from the mountain and flown 45 miles to hospital in Grenoble, where he underwent emergency surgery.

He spent two weeks in hospital before being driven by ambulance to a specialist spinal unit at Salisbury Hospital. He has been told that he might never walk again and is expected to be in hospital for up to 18 months.

He told the Bournemouth Daily Echo that the situation was a “nightmare” but added he felt “lucky to be alive”.

He said: "I have to keep telling myself these things happen.”

Living nightmare: Jack Sims was paralysed after misjudging a bike jump and falling 65ft down a cliff 
JackSims/JustGiving

Mr Sims has been mountain biking since childhood and had travelled to the Alps with friends to take part in the Megavalanche, the longest downhill mountain bike race in the world.

He added: "It's the sort of thing I have done a million times but this time I missed the jump.

"It's still very unclear what is going to happen but I have been told it's one of the worst parts of my back I could have broken so I need to set myself up for the worst."

His parents, Val and Graham, flew to France to be at his bedside and have been with him since.

The Offcamber bike shop in Blandford, where Mr Sims worked as a mechanic and sales assistant, has launched a fundraising drive, with a target of £10,000 to support him.

An online fundraising page has so-far raised £8,700.

Stuart Inman, a fellow mechanic at the shop, said: "We were all devastated by the news but Jack's positivity has lifted everyone's spirits. He is in amazingly good form considering what has happened."

Mr Sims said: "I'm so overwhelmed by the generosity of people. I looked at it today and have been totally shocked by people's kindness. I'm just a bloke in the workshop fixing people's bikes."

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