Scott Factory downhill racer, Florent Payet, endured an agonizing injury in practice for the first 2021 World Cup DH event.

The French racer was only half a minute into his run, when he explored a new line choice, that misguided him into a course marking pole.

It is not unusual for downhill racers to strike poles defining their course parameters, but in this case, Payet was wincingly unlucky.

A combination of impact angle and pole elasticity dynamics, ended with Payet requiring emergency surgery from a skilled urologist.

Payet detailed his terribly unfortunate injury, on Instagram.

“Hey everyone, just a quick update on what happened to me today.
Everything was coming together nicely, I was really happy with the track and was enjoying riding the steep mud sections.
Then the drama came.
I went out of the track on a fast section about 30 seconds into the track. I was trying find some more speed somewhere else than in the wood and simply rode into a pole. I had probably done this a thousand times in the last 16 years that I have been racing World Cups. Normally I just bounce off and keep going.
This time it was a bit different. The pole came back and whipped straight between my legs. It hit me with an unbelievable amount of pain.
I still managed to ride my bike quite well down to the bottom of the track, but when I got to the pit the pain got really bad,
We had a check down my trousers and there was lots of blood and some spare parts were hanging out that should have been tucked away safely. I needed to get to a hospital urgently.
The doctors performed emergency surgery to save them and get them back in place and to save the chance to have children…
The surgery was a success and the boys are back where they should be.:)
I will need to wait and see what this experience has actually done to me emotionally as I was very close to loosing them… This is a first time I have needed surgery without actually crashing on my bike and it has been a scary experience.
I will keep the updates coming regarding my situation over the next few days, and let everyone know about my recovery when I have more information.”

Medical staff at Leogang evaluated the severity of Payet’s injury and he was rushed to hospital. After a successful surgical event, Payet is recovering well, although there is no schedule for when he’ll return to racing.