Shanaze Reade has vowed to return from the disappointment of withdrawing from the upcoming UCI BMX World Championships in Auckland in time to light up the rest of the year.
The 24-year-old was set to travel to New Zealand for the Championships, which run from July 24-28, confident of success after a fine start to the season so far.
Reade won the opening round of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Manchester in April as well as the second in Argentina less than a month later.
However Reade sustained a knee injury after falling during a training camp in Papendal in June and will miss the World Championships as she recovers.
Reade, who finished sixth in the Olympic final at London 2012, is adamant the choice is for the best and is determined to rediscover her early season form when she returns.
“Having won every major race this year I was confident and excited to race in New Zealand, this was one of my biggest goals for 2013,” Reade told British Cycling.
“To miss out on the World Championships is really disappointing. However, my team and I believe this is definitely the correct decision.
“It will be a short period of recovery and the plan is to come back stronger for the rest of the year.”
© Sportsbeat 2013