Kiwi Legend, KTM Adventure Ambassador, and all round top bloke Chris Birch, has had to pull the pin on his 2017 Red Bull Romaniacs challenge – which this year was to ride a KTM 1090 Adventure R through the Iron Class of the traditionally dirt bike only event– after a fall resulted in a badly broken hand.
Birch was riding outside the Romanian town of Sibiu in search of a photo location when the fall occurred.
“So today’s test ride on the beautiful #redbullromaniacs ktm did not go well, Birch posted to his Facebook page. “After only about 200m of riding up a track to find a photo spot I didn’t see a rock and crashed hard and have broken a bone in my hand. It’s very hard not to be angry at myself. However you can see what shape the cast is in, with the right pills this might not be over. I honestly can’t remember the last time I crashed and now this…”
Sadly despite his hopes to be able to compete in the famous Hard Enduro, the extent of Birch’s injury has forced him to withdraw from the event in order to get his hand operated on in Germany.
It must be a tough blow for Birchy, as he says he’s not exactly used to coming into contact with the ground the hard way. It’s a rare occurrence, but it does show that despite his superhuman riding ability and the extensive training he has put in riding the heavy KTM adventure bike, even the pro’s make mistakes.
While we’ve got no word on exactly what the hand surgery is to remedy, the fact that Birch is heading straight to Munich to get it operated on signals that it is serious enough to warrant immediate action. With clutch control essential to the sorts of riding Chris is famous for, we’re hoping for a fast recovery for our favourite professional KTM rider.
