Reigning cyclo-cross world champion Zdenek Stybar of the Czech Republic said on Friday he would skip next year's world championships in his homeland because of a shoulder injury.
"I feel like crying saying this, but I'm not going," the Czech news agency CTK quoted Stybar as saying.
The 28-year-old Omega Pharma-Quick Step rider, who won world cyclo-cross titles in 2010, 2011 and 2014, tore the ligaments in his right shoulder in a fall during a cyclo-cross race in Belgium in October.
In August this year, Stybar lost several teeth in a horror crash at the Eneco Tour in Belgium, a road race he had won in 2013.
Stybar explained that the injured shoulder prevented him from lifting the bike.
Cyclo-cross takes place on multi-terrain courses and blends mountain biking with cross-country running, obliging competitors to dismount and carry their bikes during certain sections of each race.
The championships take place in Tabor a city south of Prague from January 31-February 1.
Source: AFP