Neal Kindree returned early from cross-country mountain bike Canada Cups in Quebec and Ontario on Tuesday (May 27) because of a nagging knee injury.Having finished a disappointing 16th place at Bromont, Quebec's Canada Cup #1, the Canadian National Champion was unable to finish the Mont Tremblant race after tweaking an apparent old injury that started manifesting during off-season training."Earlier this year, while training, I experienced a very sharp and painful tearing sensation under the lateral facet of my right patella. Ever since, my knee has given me varying degrees of discomfort and has an audible 'click' upon extension," writes Kindree."Early season training went well. However, as I increased intensity to prepare for competition the problem began to manifest itself and I had difficultly maintaining my training program."Kindree said x-rays and an MRI have so far revealed very little. He suffered a complete vertical fracture on the lateral side of his right patella five years ago, and specialists speculate the problem may stem from a loose fragment of scar tissue from that injury.Arthroscopic surgery is expected to reveal if this is the case, he said. Kindree withdrew from Canada Cup #3 at Hardwood Hills, Ontario and is unsure when he will be able to return to racing.Meanwhile, Philip Cairns earned a solid 12th place finish in the Junior Expert Men's category, but was disappointed with not achieving his goal of top three and a potential ticket to the World Championships in Italy. "I'm a little bit disappointed but it was a really good experience," he said. "It was lots of fun. The course suited me pretty well since it was quite technical."Riding away from home bolstered independence and strengthened friendships with his Team B.C. teammates. Before races, for example, the group went on group rides to inspect lines and passing zones. "We're a really tight group of friends," said the Howe Sound Secondary School student. "And in numbers you tend to see more things when you go over everything."Cairns's next race is the Junkyard Dog B.C. Cup race in Surrey on Saturday (June 7), which is a qualifier for the Nationals in Quebec.
