Now this isn’t the sort of news you want to land into your email inbox. Lapierre’s Nicolas Vouilloz – 10 time downhill World Champion – is down and out, this time with a serious knee injury that needed surgery. This comes straight after a long recovery from a broken scaphoid, which wrote-off his attempt at taking the first ever Enduro World Series crown in 2013.
Nicolas Vouilloz.
Vouilloz will miss round one of the Enduro World Series in Chile (19-20 April), but hopes to be fit for round two in Scotland (30 May-1 June), according to his sponsor Lapierre.
I hurt myself a fortnight ago and was operated on last week. It was during one of my first MTB rides in 5 months. I was on an XC bike and I lost balance in a slow technical section, catching my shorts on my saddle… I fell on the downslope on the opposite side to that which had been operated, my leg tense, and craaaack!
Verdict, internal lateral ligament partially torn, meniscus damaged. As I already had no crossed ligament, all medical experts advised me to have this added on as I wouldn’t get very far with both ligaments missing! I therefore decided to go for an operation with a synthetic ligament, that should have a fast recovery, we’ll see.
– Nicolas Vouilloz
We wish Nico a speedy recovery and hope to see him present at the second round of the Enduro World Series.