Lucas Cruz breaks ankle in Canadian Open Downhill practice
National champion will miss upcoming world championships
Photo by:
Sara Kempner
Just shy of one week after winning elite downhill national championships for the first time, Lucas Cruz is on the injured list. The Norco Factory Team racer shared that he fractured his ankle after casing a drop during practice for the Canadian Open Downhill this weekend in Whistler.
The Canadian Open DH is the opening event of Crankworx Whistler and is being run on the new 1199 trail, named in memory of Steive Smith. Cruz cased one of the several large drops in it.
Cruz’s timing couldn’t be worse. Not only was he recently crowned national champion, that accomplishment assured the Pemberton, B.C. racer a spot on the Canadian team for the upcoming world championships in Scotland.
Crus isn’t the only Canuck that will be sitting out worlds as a result of an injury. Seth Sherlock finished fourth at nationals in Fernie. That was one of his first races back after a wrist injury earlier in the year. The Intense Factory Racing rider also shared Saturday that his wrist turned out to not be fully recovered and will force him to sit out racing in Fort William as well.
On the opposite end, Jackson Goldstone is currently sitting out Red Bull Hardline and Crankworx Whistler in the hopes that surgery for a recurring appendix problem will be fixed on time to get to the start line in Scotland. The young Syndicate racer currently leads the World Cup standings after a sensational win at Val di Sole World Cup.
While you won’t get to see Sherlock or Cruz racing in Scotland, you can take a closer look at their prototype race bikes. Sherlock is on a team-issue Intense M279 while Cruz brought a yet-to-be-named Norco up to the podium with him in Fernie.
