MOUNTAIN biker, Rachel Atherton says she is sitting out her next two international races in a bid to be fully fit for the World Championships after dislocating her shoulder in a Round Three race at a World Cup series event.
Rachel aims to defend her world title this year but says she may have to miss events in the lead up to ensure she is ready.
She says her shoulder has made great progress since her crash in Austria, but it was too much to risk the technical and demanding tracks that upcoming World Cups are both held at, with a shoulder that is not 100 per cent.
Rachel says she has chosen not to compete in a number of World Cup events in the build up to the World Championships and on her online blog she said: "I learnt a lot from my crash in Leogang, and I realise that, yes, we only have one life, but we also only have one body to live this life with, and the importance of health has never been more prominent in my mind.
"Therefore, I made the decision along with the rest of the team, that instead of putting an already unstable shoulder to the test on two of the world's toughest tracks, I would override my heart and use my head. To spend the next few weeks building strength in my shoulders," she added.
l Rachel's brother, Gee, is travelling to compete in the next round of the World Cup, while her older brother, Dan, is still receiving treatments after suffering a broken neck in a recent training crash.
Rachel says she is disappointed to know she has to miss two World Cup meets but says: "The knowledge that I am going to be giving my shoulder the best fighting chance for the World Championships is, of course, delightful."
Rachel will make her return to racing next month at the Crankworx Festival in Whistler, BC, Canada before racing in the World Cup finals and World Cup Championships later that month.