Reigning New Zealand downhill national champion Sheryl MacLeod suffered a serious crash last Sunday while on a training ride. The 30-year-old MacLeod broke her neck and dislocated two vertebrae, her second and third, when she slid out while riding in wet conditions. A helicopter took her to Dunedin Hospital, from where she was transferred by air ambulance to Christchurch for an operation on Monday.
"Sheryl slid on the log drop, moved sideways and landed awkwardly," said her partner Warren Black to the Otago Daily Times. MacLeod's vertebrae were fused during surgery that included a bone graft, too. She remains hospitalized and is expected to begin walking in the next few days.
