Having suffered a dislocated shoulder during Round 3 of the UCI World Cup Series in Leogang, Austria, Rachel Atherton has opted to miss the next two rounds in favour of strengthening her shoulder ahead of this year's world championships.
Speaking on her personal blog via the Athertons website, Rachel commented upon her decision: "Things seem rather clear to me at the moment, I guess that when big things happen, everything drops into a rather more grounded perspective, and so it was with a clear, if somewhat sepia head that I decided it would be in my best interests not to race."
Rachel's shoulder has made great progress since her crash in Austria, but with the forthcoming World Cups both being held on technical, gnarly tracks it was too much of a risk for Rachel with a shoulder that is not in perfect condition.
The former world champion was looking forward to returning to the venue where she claimed the 2008 title in spectacular fashion – a track she describes fondly thus: "where, in every rut and root, lies a little piece of my heart".
However, she will have to wait another year until the World Cup visits Val di Sole again.
Rachel will make her return to racing next month at the Crankworx Festival in Whistler, BC, Canada before racing the World Cup Finals and World Championships later that month.
Read her full blog entry at http://athertonracing.co.uk/team/rachel/
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