A wrist injury could rule South African hopeful Alan Hatherly out of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Coetzenburg, Stellenbosch, on March 10.
Hatherly, who was the highest-placed SA rider at the National MTB Cup XCO Series opener a few weeks ago, fractured his radius after crashing out of stage three of the Tankwa Trek on Sunday.
“I have no clue at this point if I will be able to take part [in the World Cup] or not,” he told In the Bunch. “It’s difficult for me to even talk about it at this stage.
“I will get my cast taken off on Wednesday, which is when we will assess how much movement I have. If my wrist is still stiff, then it will take quite long to recover.
“If I have majority movement, then it could be very possible [to take part]. It is just a waiting game for now.”
Alan Hatherly, pictured here, is unsure at this stage whether he will be able to compete in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup after a crash at the Tankwa Trek left him with a fractured radius. Photo: Team Spur
But Hatherly said he felt optimistic. “I already have some movement [in my wrist] even with the cast on, which is promising.
“My main concern is to not to push it too early and compromise my chances for the Commonwealth Games (April 4 to 15). I cannot afford to crash or do more damage.
“I will be 100 per cent certain about my wrist in two weeks’ time when I go for X-rays.”
Hatherly said he was “having a good day” (on stage three) before his crash occurred.
“I was holding all of the top teams, including the GC leaders [Alban Lakata and Kristián Hynek], quite comfortably.
“It was a very fast stage – an average speed of 32 kilometres per hour – and there were about 20 of us in the leading group.
“With just about 15km to go, there was a simple single track with no obstacles on it but the dust was quite bad. There was a huge rock in the middle of the pass and I hit it straight on.
“It should have been marked. My left radius and my right wrist were damaged just on impact, not from the fall.
“I immediately heard a cracking sound and I first thought it was my wheel, but looking at it afterwards, we knew it was the moment my arm said goodbye.”
Hatherly, who won the second stage with partner Simon Andreassen for Spur Specialized, was unable to complete the race on the last day.
