At first, Miranda Miller was focused on the cut on her leg.聽
She had just slid out going into a road gap during a downhill practice run at the World Cup in Scotland. She鈥檇 fallen 10 feet onto flat ground. But when Miller stood up, she began to grasp something else was amiss. As the adrenaline wore off, she saw that her arm was badly broken. A few minutes later, she realized her other arm had also snapped.
That was a year ago, and Miller was determined not to let a few smashed bones put her on the sidelines. It hadn鈥檛 before. A year earlier, Miller had broken her arm in another race.
鈥淚 had three surgeries,鈥� the 麻豆社国产resident said. 鈥淚t was pretty stressful.鈥�
When Miller hopped on her bike this spring, she hadn鈥檛 ridden a full season in two years. Now at the end of the downhill mountain biking season, Miller鈥檚 story reads like the ultimate comeback. In August, Miller placed fifth at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que.聽
This month, she finished eighth at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Andorra. The downhill course in the small European country was one of Miller鈥檚 favourite tracks of the year, she said. It was steep, with 鈥渞eally big ruts,鈥� and the finish line was in the heart of the ski resort town of Vallnord.
鈥淭his was probably one of my best seasons,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淓very race I did, I had a pretty good result.鈥�
The top 10 finishes are impressive for a rider whose main objective going into the season was not to get injured. Miller admits when she first got back on a bike after her injuries, she was nervous.聽
But she pushed through, focusing on herself and her own results.聽
鈥淚 never rode out of my comfort zone. I wanted to make it through the season,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 am pretty happy to be going into the off-season actually being healthy.鈥�
Miller has big plans for next year. She wants to ride in all eight of the World Cup downhill races and place in the top five overall. Miller says she鈥檚 got a good foundation. Many 麻豆社国产residents support Miller鈥檚 racing, including CORSA and 麻豆社国产Integrated Health, she pointed out.聽
鈥淭he community gives me a lot,鈥� the 25-year-old said, noting she can鈥檛 wait for spring, when the new season begins.聽
