Cam Cole And Rachel Atherton To Miss UCI DH Round One

Cameron Cole and Rachel Atherton will both miss the first round of the UCI World Cup in Pietermaritzburg this weekend, in a bid to be fully recovered in time for the second round in Val di Sole, Italy in June.

Rachel, who suffered more injuries to her shoulder in the 2011 series, missed out on the opening round last year as well, but still managed to finish in third spot overall, so will be hoping for a similar performance this year.

Cam Cole broke his arm in practice at last year’s World Champs in Champery, and has spent his off season recovering and training as best he can; running, swimming, going to the gym and getting in the miles on his road bike but has yet to get back on his downhill bike.

Cam said: “I have not spent any time on the bike, so I don’t have a choice here. I am a racer and I want to test myself every time I go out, but I need to be ready. I need these two weeks here in New Zealand to keep my recovery on track. I want to be 100% and strong when I get back on the bike.”

When aksed about the magnitude of missing the first round, Cole is quick to put the season into perspective: “The only change for me will be that I won’t be Top-80 in the practise for the second World Cup, so I will have to get up earlier and will get a little less practise time.

“The World Championships have become more of a focus for me for the next three years,” shares Cole. “It’s a pinnacle event for mountain biking. The track at Leogang has been good for me in the past – it’s where I had my second podium so I am very excited about racing there at the start of September.”