A knee injury forced 麻豆社国产snowboarder Tom Velisek to bow out of last week's 2011 Winter X Games.
Velisek was planning to compete in the snowboard cross competition at the event in Aspen, Colo. The competition was to take place on Friday (Jan. 28) but he told The Chief he didn't want to risk further injury.
"I decided not to race today after much thought and deliberation," Velisek wrote in an email. "I pulled a tendon in my knee the first day of training and it has been getting better, but unfortunately left me feeling very unsure about being able to perform at 100 per cent."
He pointed out that the Aspen course is not one to take lightly.
"The course here is very big and fast and leaves no room for error," he said. "If you are not totally confident you can get seriously injured. So because of these reasons I decided to not risk it and heal up so I am 100 per cent for the last four World Cup races. In the end it's just a race and I had to listen to my heart."
Velisek has competed in four previous X Games, with his best result being a seventh-place finish in 2006.
The next World Cup event for Velisek is in Korea beginning on Monday (Feb. 7).
