Hard enduro rider Felix Bähker: Rehab in Madrid, attempting to walk with an exoskeleton

Felix Bähker suffered a serious crash during the Hard Enduro World Championship event in Lagares, Portugal, in early May, sustaining spinal injuries which have caused numbness in his lower limbs. The injuries amount to incomplete paralysis. His condition has gradually improved following an operation.

Following initial treatment and the first stage of his rehabilitation, the 21-year-old from Endingen am Kaiserstuhl has now been transferred from Portugal to a specialist clinic in Madrid. The former junior world championship runner-up is in the best of hands in the Spanish capital and is working tirelessly on his recovery. The facilities can definitely be described as ‘state of the art’.

This top-level treatment is currently being funded by donations raised by friends such as Milan Schmüser through generous and highly successful fundraising campaigns for Bähker. Donations have also been made on several occasions within the enduro community, most recently, for example, at the Austrian Enduro Trophy in Murau, where more than 1,600 euros were raised.

One thing is clear: the rehabilitation is costing a fortune – but it is also providing Bähker with the very latest medical care at the moment. With the help of a modern exoskeleton that delivers various stimuli, Bähker is now, for example, making repeated attempts to walk. The enduro star certainly isn’t getting bored: alongside the specific rehabilitation sessions, the uninjured upper half of his torso must also be constantly strengthened.

Most recently, the brave fighter received a visit in Madrid from his girlfriend Julia, a former Austrian national team athlete in Nordic combined from Styria, where the Beta rider has also spent a lot of time recently. “It was the best weekend I’ve had in the last three months,” confirms Bähker.