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Mountain Bike

Injured Hart sidelined from world championships

published 22 August 2012

Downhill world champ will not defend his title

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Danny Hart (Giant Factory Off-Road) will miss 2012 Worlds while his injured shoulder continues to heal. (Image credit: Giant Bicycles)

Giant Factory Off-Road Team rider Danny Hart is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and will miss the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and the final UCI Downhill World Cup race of the season. The current downhill world champion dislocated his shoulder in a training crash in France on July 12, the day after the Air DH event at Crankworx Les Deux Alpes.

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Following the crash, Hart immediately returned home to Great Britain, where he underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left shoulder.

He started physical therapy a few weeks ago and has already regained 70 percent range of motion. Hart's recovery is right on track, but he won't be ready for the final races of the 2012 season. He is focused on building his strength for 2013.

Hart put in an impressive and now famous world championship run to win the downhill in Champery, Switzerland, last year in treacherous, wet conditions while many of his rivals struggled to stay upright. It was his first elite world title.