Finn Iles pulls out of Fort William World Cup after concussion symptoms return
Canadian will have to wait to back up second place from Lourdes
Photo by:
Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
Finn Iles won’t get the chance to back up his career-best second place from Lourdes at this weekend’s Fort William World Cup. Specialized Gravity announced Wednesday that the Canadian national champ will be sitting out Fort Bill due to lingering concussion symptoms from a crash during training.
When we talked to Iles two weeks ago, his recovery sounded like it was progressing well. That appears to have changed, as his Specialized Gravity team reports he didn’t feel comfortable riding last week at a Red Bull event at Dyfi Bike Park.
Iles added an update of his own that, after Dyfi, he headed to the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre in Salzburg, Austria for testing and rehab on his injury.
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With the change, Iles is making the safe call to withdraw from racing this week. While we’re sad we won’t get to see him fight for the win this weekend, concussions are serious business and long-term effects from brain injury are a real threat. We’re happy to see Iles making the safe, but surely difficult call to fully recover from his injury.
Iles’ withdrawal from Fort William comes one day after Tahnée Seagrave announced she will also be missing Fort William World Cup due to ongoing concussion issues.
