Nys ends mountain bike season earlier than planned

Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) will not be at the mountain bike World Cup in Val di Sole, Italy this weekend, nor at the world championships in Switzerland in two weeks. After he did not finish the previous World Cup round in the Czech Republic last Sunday, Nys decided to end his mountain bike season a bit early.

A knee injury that Nys suffered at the Dalby Forest World Cup in the spring seriously upset his plans for the 2011 mountain bike season. It made it impossible for him to acheive his goal of getting the results needed for an early qualification for the Belgian mountain bike team heading to the Olympic Games in 2012.

"I feel like I've been running behind for a few weeks now as I've attempted to catch up," said Nys. "It does not make much sense to want to participate in the world championships at all costs and be plowed. My winters are too important to me. Too bad, but that's how it is. We'll see though for next year."

Nys will soon begin preparation for the upcoming cyclo-cross season.