Spectator seriously injured at mountain bike event near Shropshire border
A young woman has been left fighting for her life after being involved in a crash at a mountain bike race near the Shropshire/Wales border.
The woman was watching the event, which was part of the UK DH series, when the incident happened on Sunday.
She was airlifted to hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries from the track side in Llangollen.
The race, run by Borderline Events, was stopped following the incident, which happened at about 5.30pm.
A spokesman for the Welsh Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 5.37pm to the Llangollen area. We responded with two Wales Air Ambulances, and a woman in her 20s with serious and potentially life-threatening injuries was airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire."
The woman's exact injuries are not known.
Jack Reading, who won the race, said: "I'm absolutely gutted for the poor lady who was spectating and got hit by a crashing bike, which caused second runs to be cancelled and left her in a critical condition. Best wishes to her, heal up soon."
Rick Clarkson, events co-ordinator at British Cycling, said the organisation was awaiting information from the Briti`1sh Cycling official who attended yesterday's race.
He said: "We need to establish what happened and collate all the information.
"We want to send our best wishes to the injured woman."
The race had been taking place at Llangollen downhill trail, which is considered among the most brutal of the UK downhill race venues.
