Cole out with broken wrist

Rising World Cup downhiller Cameron Cole, of Christchurch, New Zealand, broke his wrist in the muddy conditions at the Champéry World Cup in Switzerland this past weekend.

"Then I saw the cut and thought I would just need to get it cleaned out, then about an hour afterward it started to get sore so I decided to go to the doctor. At this stage every day is valuable for healing, so I thought it would be better to know if it was broken."

Cole will go back in one week for another x-ray to make sure it's healing. "I might talk to some people in New Zealand to see if I can try to get home and sort it out so I can get back for Worlds and the World Cup final."

"If I can get my wrist operated on this week I think I could be okay for the World Championships. Once you have a screw in the scaphoid it heals a lot quicker and a lot more effectively. That will only happen if I can get home, or maybe in France. That would mean a four-week healing period. I have a screw in my left wrist and it healed quicker than they said it would."

"In 2007 my crash was massive and it was my first big injury, but it taught me what to expect to come back from it and how to handle this one. But this crash was just a silly one and won't knock my confidence," he said.

Cole's confidence has been soaring as he has been collecting top results without stepping outside his comfort zone in the World Cup races. Champéry was working out no differently for him.