Oli at WC6- The stickman breaks

                          
Three times GB Olympic team mountain biker and Endura sponsored rider, Oli Beckingsale, regularly visits the Centre for Sports Studies for sports science and sports therapy support. He has now begun his campaign to make London 2012 his fourth Olympic Games

Hello
Life, sport and bike racing is a mix of highs and lows. After the high of my 9th place at the European Champs (my best result for 3 yrs) I came crashing down to a massive low only a week later at the sixth round of the World Cup in the Czech Republic.

The race was great big crowds, well organised and a super tough course, which featured tough steep climbs, technical descents and lots and lots of roots. The Elite men were down for 8 laps and I knew this was going to be one of the most physical races of the year.

I pushed to move up on the start loop and took a few risks, one of which did not pay off as I hit a huge rock taking an off-piste line. The tire did not go completely but went to 10PSI and required a quick CO2 inflation. This meant i came round lap one mid pack in 70th.The legs were good though and by the end of lap 5 I was up to 32nd and going forward.

Then near the end of lap 6 things went wrong in a big way. On a flat rooty part of the course my front wheel slipped out and in went down. Its the type of crash I have had a thousand times but luck was not on my side and I landed with my full weight on my hip onto a large tree root.

I never experienced pain like it as I dragged myself of the track. After a painful trip to hospital and an xray it turned out that I have a fractured the neck of my femur, in other words I have snapped the ball of my hip joint of my leg!!!

Its a bad injury but I am lucky as there was a complete break but everything stayed in place and the hip did not dislocate. I was operated on that night and they pinned and plated the joint.

My Dad stepped up and flew out on the Monday to help me, which was fantastic, as being on a Czech hospital ward, language issue, dealing with the insurance company and being generally worried would of been far more challenging on my own.

I managed to get home to the UK on Saturday and go to a UK hospital. The consultant was happy with the work they had done in Czech and now I can begin to recover and rehab. Basically this involves 6 weeks on crutches with no weight on the bad leg and then another 6 weeks working up to full weight. I have exercise to do but no riding for 12 weeks!

At least it is almost the end of the season , I have only missed 4 races and like they say if it does not kill you it makes you stronger..

Photos attached of me in hospital looking positive and a nice shot of some metal work ( i hope they put titanium in there!)

Thanks for the support

Oli