Hawke's Bay's Brook MacDonald, who dislocated his kneecap during practice, displayed courage to ride to a season-best fourth place in the UCI World Cup mountain bike downhill in Italy yesterday.
The 24-year-old Trek World Racing professional dislocated his knee after a crash in his final practise run on Friday, butafter treatment he decided to continue with bracing on his leg. He rushed down the treacherous Val di Sole course in 3:35.215 to nab the leader's Hot Seat which he held until being dislodged by the final three riders.
American Aaron Gwin won the final round and the overall World Cup title, with MacDonald (pictured) grabbing a deserved spot on the podium.
"Man that was a great run, I enjoyed it so much. About a third of the way in I was hitting everything just as I wanted and I was able to pick things up by the end of the second sector," MacDonald said.
"In the final sector I just let it rip and was stoked to see I was two seconds quicker than the rest when I crossed the line.
"I know I've had that speed all year but stupid little errors or washouts have stopped me converting my runs into podiums."
The effort lifted MacDonald to 10th in the final World Cup rankings, one spot behind compatriot Sam Blenkinsop (Norco Factory Racing) who was 11th yesterday.
"To finish the season ranked top 10 after some messy results like Windham, well I'm pretty happy about that," MacDonald said.
"The fans were amazing today and I just want to thank every fan that has supported me both online and live at the races this year, it means more than you know."
Hawke's Bay's national champion George Brannigan (Trek World Racing) ended up 25th in the final rankings after finishing 17th yesterday.
