Shane Sutton questions Katie Archibald's decision making after motorbike crash injury
Katie Archibald was reportedly riding a motorcycle in the rain when she ruptured knee ligaments, not riding her bike like she originally claimed
While track cyclist Katie Archibald originally claimed she ruptured a ligament in her knee by falling off her bike, it later emerged that she actually crashed a motorbike.
Writing in the Herald Scotland after the crash, Archibald wrote "I’ve crashed my bike, ruptured a ligament in my knee and put a massive dent in my training and racing plan", although last week she admitted it was a motorbike she was riding, not a bicycle.
According to the Telegraph, the Scot was travelling at 70mph through Alderley Edge, Cheshire, in wet conditions when she crashed, injuring her knee and elbow in the process.
British Cycling's technical director Shane Sutton criticised her decision to ride a motorbike in the rain, especially with a place at the Rio Olympics at stake.
“I was a bit shocked to say the least,” Sutton told the Telegraph's Tom Cary. “She made a bad choice. That’s what I said to her: ‘Everything you do between now and the Games is about choices. You know, do you choose to go on the p*** with someone when you really shouldn’t? Because every time you do that is a little dent in your recovery process.’
“That was a really bad choice on her part but it’s not for us to sit here and tell her she can’t ride a motorbike. They are grown ups. They have a life to live. And of course you could get hit by a car riding your bike. These things happen.
“But life is about choices. And the choices you make will govern your outcome. And she made a bad choice there. Inexperienced, raining, riding your motorbike… crazy.”
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Archibald, who won three titles at the European Championships in 2015, was released from the British squad for the World Championships in London next month after she failed to recover sufficiently from the injury.
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Stuart Clarke is a News Associates trained journalist who has worked for the likes of the British Olympic Associate, British Rowing and the England and Wales Cricket Board, and of course Cycling Weekly. His work at Cycling Weekly has focused upon professional racing, following the World Tour races and its characters.
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