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Visit Josh @ his JoshCoppins.Com: Website.
It features the Kiwi`s latest news, pictures, profile etc.
COPPINS FACES SURGERY THIS WEEK:
Motocross ace Josh Coppins goes under the surgeon\'s knife this week, just
days after leading New Zealand to fourth in the world teams event.
The 26-year-old expat Kiwi will have bone repair work on the ankle he
shattered in a race fall last January.
The surgery will be done in Belgium, near the Zolder circuit where Coppins
faced off against the world\'s best at the Motocross des Nations yesterday.
\"I\'m having one of the screws in my ankle removed,\" explained the Honda
factory star.
\"The bone it is holding has not grafted properly and it\'s broken up,
restricting the joint. I don\'t have proper movement and it\'s pretty painful
when I walk.
\"It\'s been OK when I\'m riding, with my race boot holding everything in
place, so I waited till the end of the season to allow myself plenty of
recovery time,\" Coppins added.
The Motueka-born pro racer expects to be in hospital for a day and on
crutches for a few days afterwards.
\"The doctors say I should be walking fine within a couple of weeks,\" he said.
\"I\'ll take a holiday then, and come back fully fit by the end of the year
to start building up for next year\'s world championship.\"
Coppins, second in the world last year, plans to re-ignite his world title
bid in 2004 after writing off this year when the career-threatening crash
broke the ankle, both feet and his spine.
\"It\'s been a hell of a year and I just want to forget all about it,\" he
quipped.
Coppins bounced back to 12th in the world glamour class, mounting the
podium at year-end after missing early grands prix following extensive
surgery.
The likeable Kiwi earned plaudits with his gutsy comeback, limping around
the pits and often unable to climb over small obstacles.
Doctors told him he could face life in a wheelchair with his broken back,
but he was racing within three months of his spine surgery.
The surgeons also warned he would never race again as his ankle and feet
were almost beyond repair.
Coppins faced down the concerns, although not without problems along the
way. A month ago he squashed a foot against race fencing when he ran wide
on a turn.
\"A toenail fell off and I thought my toe was broken,\" said the plucky ace.
\"But it seems to have come right.\"
Yesterday Coppins was again the star of the New Zealand team of which he
has been a fixture for almost a decade. Riding the 2004 model Honda CRF450R
four-stroke, Coppins ran away with his semi-final race and recorded fifth
in the final.
With Belgian King Albert II and 23,000 fans watching, the home nation
secured the title at what\'s known as the Olympics of Motorcycling, ahead of
favourites USA. Finland took third.
Coppins was again the star performer when minnow New Zealand took the
bronze medal two years ago.
Ian RJ Miles
