As great as the 2014 World Cup series was, it has to be said that Stevie Smith was sorely missed. Any season lacking the reigning World Cup champion is never quite the same, but when that rider is someone as skilled as Stevie it hits even harder. He isn’t just an incredible rider either, he’s one of the great characters on the race circuit, so like I said before he was sorely missed. We all thought that we’d see him return to battle for the World Champs, and maybe even upset this year’s apple cart considering his unbeaten record in Hafjell, but sadly yesterday he put out the following message on Instagram…

So from all of us at Dirt, heal up soon Stevie cos we can’t wait to have you back racing.

As much as we are going to miss Stevie from the World Champs we still think it’s going to be an absolute belter this year, and if you want to know everything there is to know about the race then check out our World Champs preview.

More from Stevie through the links below:

STEVE SMITH INTERVIEW: IN WINTER

STEVE SMITH: SEASON WON, MUSTACHE GONE

Interview: Stevie Smith’s Mechanic Answers Some Tough Stevie Questions