A recovery fund has been set up for a rider who suffered a crash in his finals run at the Red Bull Rampage.

Paul Basagotia crashed on his first run after hitting what has been described as “the record for biggest step down”. He came off his bike at speed at was thrown over a small cliff. Paul had to be airlifted from the Rampage site and was taken straight to hospital.

The live feed of the event calimed that he had suffered a minor leg injury but it was later found that he had in fact broken the T12 vertebrate in his back, leading to a nine hour emergency surgery procedure. The incident has prompted a backlash on social media, most notably from Cam Zink who finished sixth in the competition.

Watch Basagotia’s step down in the Rampage highlights

The Road2Recovery Foundation has now set up a fundraising page to aid Basagotia in his rehabilitation. The fund aims to raise $100,000 to give Paul and his family “the opportunity to get the best care available”. The total currently stands at $17,568.

The foundation is also hoping to raise social media awareness for Paul by encouraging users to use the hashtag #irideforpaul.

The Road2Recovery foundation describes its mission statement “To provide financial assistance to action sports professionals in the event they sustain career ending injuries.” It is not clear at this point whether Paul Basagotia’s career will be ended by this injury, but if it does it will be sad departure for the two-time Crankworx Joyride winner.

You can find the fundraising page here