Richard Branson Is Recovering 'Well' After 'Colossal' Bike Crash: 'Could Have Been So Much Worse'

The businessman said he suffered "severe cuts and bruises" on his elbow in addition to "an extraordinarily big bump on my hip and a massive hematoma on my leg"

Richard Branson. Photo: Richard Branson/Instagram

Richard Branson is recovering from a "colossal" cycling accident, he shared on Instagram Wednesday.

The Virgin Group founder, 71, was taking part in the Strive Challenge when his brakes stopped working and he ran into his friend Felix Stellmaszek, who was cycling up ahead.

"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. 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," Branson wrote on his blog Tuesday.

"I gripped both brakes as tight as I could (later learning I should have tried taking one hand off the brake and then squeezing it again), but they didn't work. I cried out to Felix a warning - 'brakes not working!' - but he had no chance of getting out of the way," he continued. "We crashed - hard."

Both men slammed onto the concrete road, he wrote, adding that there was "no question that wearing helmets saved" their lives.

Branson also added that just moments after they were gathered up to go to the hospital, a car came around the corner and hit another vehicle, calling it "another close shave."

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For his injuries, the businessman described "severe cuts and bruises" on his elbow in addition to "an extraordinarily big bump on my hip and a massive hematoma on my leg."

"But it could have been so much worse," he said.

On Wednesday, Branson shared a video of Stellmaszek describing the collision that was taken in the car after the accident. They both appeared in good spirits, with Stellmaszek joking that he "never had someone push me off the road and apologize in advance. It was very gentle and kind of him, I've got to say."

In his caption for the video, Branson wrote: "Recovering well from a colossal cycling crash. Thankfully we're ok, but some big bumps and bruises!"