Man down: Sam Blenkinsop

Jan 18, 2012 at 12:32
by Matt Wragg  
Word is through from the guys at Lapierre International that Kiwi World Cup racer Sam Blenkinsop is down with a broken ankle. They posted this message on their Facebook page today:

bigquotesThe message came just with the new year : "I broke my fibula bone in my ankle on Friday, slipped down a steep hill and it cracked!" All the best buddy, you will be ready for SA World Cup in March...

We don't have any more details right now, but they seem confident that he'll be back in action for Round One in Pietermaritzburg. His loose-as-you-like riding style is one of the highlights of the World Cup scene these days, so all of us here at Pinkbike are hoping he makes it. After a disappointing 2011 (by his standards, anyway), this must have been the last thing he needed, get well soon Blenki!

Head on over to their Facebook page to wish him a quick recovery.

Check out Sam's 2011 season recap:

Filmed and edited by Vittorio Platania

Sam Blenkinsop en route to collecting a 2500 CDN check for his efforts on the day I m guessing team drinks were on Blenki afterwards.

A few Worlds bikes are starting to show up but one off paint jobs are a bit more low key than they have been in years past. Sam Blenkinsop has a Kiwi National team kit look to it courtesy of Jack his mechanic. But the bit Blenki appreciates most is the 256 on the downtube--his plate number from his World Cup win at Schladming a few years back.


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mattwragg avatar

Member since Oct 29, 2006
753 articles

36 Comments
  • 10 1
 Wishing you a speedy recovery, having just come off of a shattered ankle of both tib and fib I can say that ankle breaking sucks, but be glad its not the bigger weight bearing tibia. IF you need surgury to correct this be sure to have the plates removed asap, as I currentlly sit here with a sheared off tibia and broken fibula just past a year after the initial injury due to the plate literally shearing the bone in half. Heal fast.
  • 3 0
 bad news dude, i hope everything is coming together for you. I'm off for an x-ray tomorrow to look for bone growth on my tib and fib, to determine whether or not i need more surgery to finish the job. Had a look at your femur x-rays too - i've got the rod that came out of my femur mounted over the fireplace Wink
  • 2 0
 what led you to have it removed? i ask because its my good leg now lol. but after this unfortunate new fracture caused by my ankle hardware I consider having the rod removed also. how long was recovery?

hoping your bine is growing strong and further surgery isnt required. Salute
  • 3 0
 cheers, i'm keeping all fingers crossed! In my femur i was getting a lot of pain from the screws near my knee and it was about ten years ago so i would have been 16/17. they were worried i might get a late growth spurt and end up with one short leg! i was on the crutches for 4 months and by 6 months i was starting back to downhill, that one was really straight forward thankfully. the operation to have the metal work out later on only kept me off for around 6 to 8 weeks, but i was walking and doing light cycling in the mean time so not too bad. Aparently it's a bigger deal getting the rod taken out of the tibia, because they have to go in through the tendons under the knee as i bet you know! But i'm looking to have the screws taken out when i can, to stop the pain in my knee and ancle (assuming everything goes well that is) Salute
  • 3 0
 Injuries suck to all injured i wish you a fast recovery ! I just shattered my radius bone into 6 pieces had one operation another on Monday. Sucks not being able to ride. Ps guys i also fractured my tib and fib in summer 2010 they crossed over onto each other so i got metal rods in also Frown sucked !!
  • 3 0
 ouch, i compacted my elbow a couple of years ago and cracked the radious, that sucker hurt more than anything elce i've been through, altho it wasn't anything like being in 6 pieces. i hope everything goes well. How is your leg now days? do you have any trouble with it?
  • 3 0
 Thanks dude im only 15 i thought my leg hurt more tbh. When i done my radius sunday i walked up the push up and went a good 4 hrs without medication ! My leg is great the rods still in there seems to be fine never irritates me or hurts so until it does im leaving them in.
  • 3 0
 that's fair enough then. did you break it at the racers guild? i noticed you got a pic from there. I usually run the clocks and the marshals there. When i broke my elbow i spent most of the day helping one of our new guys take times at the bottom!
  • 3 0
 Yer i did Frown two days of very early mornings (half5) on the weekend riding all day then at the end decided to do the djs on pumptastic front wheel cased on my friends bike then straight over and landed on it hard Frown
  • 3 0
 unlucky, also - it's my trail you broke yourself on! i hope you'll come back and get it right when you'r back on it dude!
  • 4 0
 So sorry that so many of us have to deal with injuries. I sit here at the moment with four broken ribs, a separated shoulder and a tiny whole in my lung and all I can think about is getting back on my bike. I guess we all have to pay to play in more ways than one. I wish all the best for Sam and everyone else here on PB that is recovering!
  • 3 0
 All the best on your recovery, Blenki! (and everyone above, and below me on this thread!)
I'm 12 days in on a separated shoulder.. yep, they never said it was an easy sport or a safe one.. It sure is fun though!
Thanks to the PB crew for keeping the stoke going during my down time!
  • 1 0
 Holy jeeebus, we are a bunch of Metalic Warriors arnt we... lol, Well happy to hear the recovery was 6-8 weks, thats not too bad, I get some pain from the ir femur nail but its fairly minimal. The thing that makes me think about removing it is the new found lack of trust in hardware since this last injury. I have never had the pain i did with the femur, I also cracked my hip and broke my Scaphoid inthat crash ( was better to toss myself to the grund than to hit the oncoming trees I thought ) and it took about 3 weeks before I was able to do very much at all without a lot of help. I hope for all of those injured to have a speedy recovery.



my fracture list for biking is the femur, hip and shoulder. I did my calcanius snowboarding, my tib and fib also snowboarding, various things ike toes and fingers skateboarding and the ankle shattering happened when I was lofted 40 feet into the air by a traction kite ( i figured this was a less injury prone sport lmao )



Downhillnirvana, How'd the X rays go ? hoping you;re not in need of further srgury. Salute I also had meant to ask, how long after the removal of the femur rod before you were able to stand on it ? they tell me you can walk right after surgurey but must be carefull, I find this hard to believe.
  • 1 0
 ah i'm off for the x-rays in the mornin. Yeah i was walking right after the surgery to remove the pin from my femur. The only soreness i had was from the incisions and staples. Just to clarify the 6-8 weeks recovery was after the removal. It was advised to give the bone time to knit over the holes from screws and the rod removal. i will update once i know how the x-rays come out!
  • 1 0
 a no news day for me at any rate. aparently the bones haven't grown hardly since the last x-ray and i'm awaiting a specialists oppinion as to what they're going to do. so looks like everything is still undecided!
  • 1 0
 Shite man, sorry to hear that.

keep up on spirits, avoid alcohol, tobacco and caffiene, and take your Vitamin D, C calcium magnesium regualrilly... You likely already know all this but I figured i;d share what knowledge i can .
  • 9 0
 Gloves won't help here.
  • 4 0
 personally your the best on the world circuit to me! dont make this injery bring your level of intencly sick riding style. I hope for the best to come your way mate. And good luck next year i will support you forever!
  • 1 0
 Get well soon Sam!! had the same thing in summer 2011 broken fibula and ligament. surgery with titan plates. 2 months after the surgery i could ride again..rode with ankle brace...just to cheer you up. it is all about rehab but who am i telling this...you are a pro. and the titan doesn't have to be removed in my case. Dr. says if it doesn't rub and disturb me in the shoes there is no issue. doesnt even disturb me in my snowboard boot. so best luck to you!!
  • 1 0
 this was what i thought after several times out riding and even doing some decent jumps and spins ( snowboarding ) then one day i took a super light toeside turn and went down like a sac o potatoes. Not trying to jinx you and I do hope you stay in tact, just consider the down time of removing the plates an option, I broke my ankle badly in october 2010 and my sergeon said the same... my fracture kept me down and out for 6 months as it was a tib and fix shattered into the ankle joint so quite possiblly worse for wear, the plates etched away my bone. Frown
  • 1 0
 oooh that is a lot worse than just fibula. i am not sure if i understood it right...did you have another fracture because you didnt take out the Ti-plate. mine is almost exactly like this pic.
www.dhpmoto.com/Trips/Seefeld/X-Ray/X-Ray.htm

i dont understand how it etches the bone??

but thanks..maybe i am considering taking out hte plates. but i have had quite a few injuries and surgeries (4) due different types of sports the paste 8 years. that would mean i have another surgery and again days i cant work...my boss has been very patient so far but i feel bad anyway.

cheers
  • 1 0
 that is a fracture of the Fibula, which is a non weight bearing bone so not as serious.

The original fracture of my ankle was a tibia ( larger weight bearing bone ) and fibula that went down into my ankle joint so fairly serious, I have the plate pictured in that link you posted plus another on the tibia.

the tibeal plate ( being stainless steel ) created a pressure point on my tibia that took only time and then a little bit of precise force ( snowboard boot and binding ) to press further and harder into the bone, causing a weak point... it was Fine all summer when biking.

so yeah, a second fracture of the tibia, just above the plate, and a higher up fracture of the fibula due to the resulting crash .. Frown

Boss has been awesome to me also.... im a lucky guy .
  • 1 0
 NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! DAMMMAAAATTT!! Sam heal up soon man I was greatly looking forward to seeing you race this year with the Lapierre boys. You've got the sickest style on a bike anywhere and watching you ride is an inspiration every time, don't let the mental side get to you I'm sure your gonna kill it this season, but heal up man I simply can not wait for your return.. Sincerely, your #1 Fanboy, JeanGirard
  • 1 0
 7 months past my bad Tib Fib break, Does anyone still have screws in their bones? I have a IM Rod and 6 screws in my leg, 4 in my ankle, 2 in my knee...cheers! and fast recovery to all!
  • 2 0
 Fibula is not part of your ankle, dunno why people call it a broken ankle. It is common to break in sports since it is a wussy bone compared to the tibia. Speedy healing!
  • 1 0
 Greg Watts is aswell injured with 2 broken vertebras after a double flip went wrong.

www.bigbike-magazine.com/actu-greg-watts-sam-blenkinsop-l-hopital
  • 2 0
 What are you doing you wild goose!! Stop walking down steep hills
  • 2 0
 and start riding them
  • 5 3
 Ones does not simply walk down steep hills . . . . into Mordor. . . . anybody? no. . . . too soon?
  • 1 0
 After coming out third at champs Id say he was training hard , hungry for more , But id say hes ******* pissed now.
Heal up
  • 2 0
 Ugh.... Healing vibes man!
  • 2 0
 One of my favorite riders to watch. Heal up well and soon!
  • 1 0
 feo ql afondoooo wn! jajaj
  • 1 0
 Ohh Sam, not another injury!? Get well soon, dude!
  • 1 0
 ah no!!! why now?!
  • 1 1
 because better now than in four months







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