Sir Richard Branson has revealed the extent of his injuries sustained in a tragic bike collision.
The 73-year-old Virgin tycoon exhibited his gory scratches from striking a pothole and falling off his bike in Virgin Gorda.
Branson shared a photo on his Instagram page with Alex Wilson, whom he was also riding with, showing the businessman with a bleeding arm.
He got away with more than a few scrapes and bruises, revealing that the event, which occurred after he ‘nearly died’ in a high-speed bike wreck in 2016, resulted in a hematoma in his hip.
‘Took quite a big tumble while cycling in Virgin Gorda a little while ago!’ he wrote in the caption.
‘I hit a pothole and crashed hard, resulting in another hematoma on my hip and a nasty cut elbow, but amazingly nothing broken. We were cycling with Alex Wilson, who fell after me, but thankfully he was ok as well.
‘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!’
It isn’t the first time Branson has been engaged in a bicycle mishap in the Virgin Islands; in 2016, the billionaire went head-first onto the road while practicing with his children.
He was transported to Miami for X-rays and scans, which revealed he had a shattered face and ruptured ligaments.
‘I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a “sleeping policeman” hump in the road head on,’ he wrote.
‘The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes. 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.’
His bike was less lucky, as it went flying off the cliff.
‘I really couldn’t believe I was alive, let alone not paralysed,’ he said, adding that wearing a helmet had saved his life.
Branson worried he had fractured his back after falling off his bike at a charity event in 2021.
‘I was navigating a steep corner, with a massive cliff drop to my left, a car coming up the hill, and my fellow Striver, Felix Stellmaszek, in front of me passing the car,’ he wrote on his blog.
‘I pulled on both of my brakes, but they didn’t respond. I was going faster and faster, with my options being to drop off the cliff, hit the car, or potentially run into Felix [Stellmaszek].
‘I cried out to Felix a warning – “brakes not working!” – but he had no chance of getting out of the way. We crashed – hard.
‘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.
‘We both lay flat out on the road as the rest of the team gathered around us.
‘I stayed still, hoping I hadn’t broken my back or paralysed myself. Slowly, I moved my limbs and was relieved they responded. Thankfully, Felix was ok too.’
