South African hopeful Alan Hatherly is a doubtful starter for the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Stellenbosch on March 10 after an assessment of his injured wrist last week was inconclusive.
Hatherly fractured his left radius when he crashed out of stage three of the Tankwa Trek just less than a month ago.
He went for a follow-up assessment last week but he remains unsure whether he will be able to take part or not.
“It [his wrist] is still in the process of healing,” Hatherly told In the Bunch today. “The full time off was supposed to be four weeks and it has only been two-and-a-half now.”
Alan Hatherly pictured in South African colours during UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Australia last year. Photo: Team Spur
With the World Cup taking place next Saturday that puts his chances in jeopardy but there was still some cause for optimism, he said.
“Movement in my wrist is getting there, but it still needs more time to rest.
“If I take part [in the World Cup] it will be a last-minute decision,” he said. “At this point, I still don’t know.”
His next assessment would be “entirely up to me”, Hatherly said.
“I need to decide whether it is worth the risk or not. If I cannot hold the bike properly by next week it will not be worth putting the Commonwealth Games [in April] and the rest of my season at risk.
“I will make the final call sometime next week,” he added.
