Koretzky clarifies his situation: he couldn’t race in Les Gets and hopes to return at Val di Sole

Victor Koretzky has been one of the great protagonists of international XCO during the last seasons and the current world champion of Short Track. But in 2026, we have barely seen him compete. A humerus fracture suffered before the start of the World Cup has complicated his season much more than expected, and now the Frenchman has explained why he also did not start in Les Gets and when he hopes to return.

Victor Koretzky hopes to return at the World Championship in Val di Sole

The season had started in the best possible way for Koretzky. His debut came in February at the Shimano Super Cup Massi in Banyoles, where he once again demonstrated his special relationship with the Catalan event. The Frenchman won after attacking on the last lap and achieved a new victory in Banyoles, confirming that he was starting 2026 at an excellent level.

But his plans changed completely just a few weeks later.

At the beginning of April, with less than a month to go before the start of the World Cup in South Korea, Koretzky suffered a fracture of the left humerus while training. The injury required surgery in which a titanium prosthesis was placed, forcing him to completely halt his preparation.

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The initial forecasts indicated that he could return in June, coinciding with the World Cup in Leogang, but the recovery ended up taking much longer than expected.

Koretzky did not appear on a World Cup entry list again until July, when his name appeared on the start list for Pal Arinsal, Andorra. It seemed then that his return was very close, although in the end he did not start.

This weekend, the situation repeated itself in Les Gets. The Specialized Factory Racing rider traveled to France, appeared again among the entries, and even managed to ride a few laps on the circuit, but he also did not compete.

Now we know why.

Koretzky had to undergo surgery again four weeks ago

Koretzky himself explained from Les Gets that his recovery suffered a new setback and he had to be operated on again about four weeks ago.

"My arm is a little better. I was operated on almost four weeks ago", explained the Frenchman.

The good news is that he has been able to gradually return to training with his Epic 9. In fact, he took advantage of his presence in Les Gets to test himself directly on a World Cup circuit.

"I can ride more and more on the mountain bike. I have done a few laps on the circuit to feel a bit what it means to ride on a World Cup track".

That explains his presence over the weekend and also why, despite being registered, he ultimately did not participate. His arm is still not ready to withstand the demands of a World Cup race.

However, his return could be very close.

His goal is to return at the World Championship to try to defend the XCC rainbow

The World Championship in Val di Sole takes place this week, and Koretzky hopes that there he will finally end his long absence.

"I hope to be able to compete again next week at the World Championship", he assured from Les Gets.

His main objective will be the Short Track, a discipline in which he arrives as a two-time consecutive world champion. Koretzky won the XCC rainbow in 2024 and again triumphed in 2025, so in Val di Sole, he will have the opportunity to defend the jersey that has accompanied him for the last few seasons for the second consecutive time.

But this time he will arrive under completely different circumstances. Banyoles remains his only race contested in 2026 and he will have to face the best specialists in the world directly after several months without competition.

Even so, the XCC could be precisely the discipline that allows him to expedite his return. Its duration and characteristics make Koretzky consider that the impact on his arm is less than in a full XCO event.

"Maybe at first, I will only compete in the XCC and then we will see what happens with the XCO, because I feel that running only the Short Track has less impact on my arm", he explained.

His participation in the XCO of the World Championship, therefore, is still not guaranteed. He will first test his feelings and the response of his arm before deciding if he can also tackle the long race.

Meanwhile, Koretzky has continued to support the Specialized Factory Racing and has highlighted the performance that the team is showing this season despite his absence.

"It is incredible to see how the team has been performing since the beginning of the season. Everyone seems to be in great shape, and I hope they can achieve more podiums".