Sam Hill has decided to end his 2016 downhill season early after missing out on selection for Australia at the World Championships.
Thirty-one-year-old Sam Hill will miss the World Cup finals from Vallnord and the World Championships in Val di Sole and instead focus on the last two rounds of the Enduro World Series in Valberg-Guillaumes, France and Finale Ligure, Italy.
In a post on Instagram, Hill said: “Fifteen years straight I have represented Australia at the worlds champs. I’m sad to say that this year I won’t be there as I didn’t make the selection criteria with my results. It’s been a frustrating year for me but I will re-group and come back stronger. Decided to skip Andorra and focus on the last two EWS rounds.”
Hill’s best result this year was a 24th in Fort William and he currently sits 40th in the overall standings however he has picked up two second places in the EWS at the Emerald Enduro and La Thuile.
The World Champs are being held at Val di Sole, where Hill produced one of the greatest runs of all time at the 2008 edition, but crashed on the final corner to hand the win to Gee Atherton and roll over the line in third.
It seems like Sam is not fully prepared to give up on downhill just yet and we expect to see him back and firing next year. Let’s hope he can recapture the form of 2014 where he grabbed to wins at Mont Sainte Anne and Meribel.
