EN Junior bike racer Elen Lapková evaluates the season so far with mixed feelings. She was unable to start at the European Championships or at the World Championships in Brisbane, Australia, where she ended up in hospital after a fall. On the contrary, she was happy with the third place in the European Cup race in Venátky nad Jizerou. Závody Audio version Listen to article Open audio Tvůj prohlížeč nepodporuje přehrávání audia. "I'm mainly disappointed that I didn't show what I'm capable of at the European Championships or the World Championships," says Elen Lapková. "At the European Championships, I was already eliminated in the quarterfinals. I felt that I could have had a better result. But I got off to a bad start, my rear wheel spun and I could no longer catch up with my opponents. And the World Championships? I'd rather not even talk about it. In the first run, I lost speed shortly after the start, I bounced badly, on the second jump I drove into the edge incorrectly and flew over the handlebars. It was my fault," she returns with a distance to the fateful race. She was unconscious for a while after the fall. "I don't remember anything about it, I completely switched off for a while. I've already experienced a lot of falls during bicross, I had a concussion several times, but it was the first time I had surgery," continues the member of TJ Slovan Bohnice BMX. She flew home from Australia the very next day after the race. "I had a concussion and a broken collarbone. I went straight from the airport to the Motol hospital and after about five hours I went into surgery. Fortunately, the fracture was not complicated, so everything went well. I've been home since Wednesday," says Elen. The first moments after the injury were difficult. "I was very disappointed. But when the World Cup was canceled the next day because of the weather, I thought it didn't really matter that much." She will have another check-up at the beginning of August. "I'm going to the hospital on the third of August. I'll probably have my stitches removed and then I'll have to undergo rehabilitation and gradual movement of my shoulder. I don't know exactly when I'll be back on the bike yet, but I'd like to make it to the national championships in Venátky nad Jizerou at the end of August. The doctors probably won't be too happy about it, because they expect a two-month break, but that's more of a recommendation," she smiles. After the home championship, there are two more European Cup races in Norway and Belgium. "I probably won't go to Norway, but I would like to go to Belgium," says the competitor, who is completing her last season among juniors this year. From next year, he will compete in the U23 category. "It will be an interesting change. I will have to push myself even more. I think that I am physically well prepared, but the transition to U23 will mainly be about the mental side. That is where I will have to move the most," added Elen Lapková.