Julien Benek undergoes successful thumb surgery. | Tree Three Media photo

Julien Benek Injury and Recovery Update

Julien Benek undergoes successful “skier’s thumb” surgery in his home province of British Columbia

By Billy Rainford

Mission, British Columbia, racer #500 Julien Benek raced the first 2 rounds of the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series under less-than-ideal circumstances. For starters, he had mono and was feeling much less than 100%.

During Free Practice at Anaheim 1, he fell and damaged his right thumb. He learned that he had an avulsion fracture and would need surgery. Undeterred, he still went out and qualified 27th in 250 West, finished 14th in Heat 2, and was 2nd in the LCQ to head to the Main where he was 19th.

After learning the procedure wouldn’t be covered in California, when the series headed to San Francisco for Round 2, he decided he’d also race that round because it was on his way home to Canada anyway.

He qualified 38th, was 18th in Heat 1, and finished 6th in the LCQ to end his night.

He made it home to Mission and underwent 1 1/2 hours of successful surgery in Port Moody, BC on January 19th. The doctor told him his thumb was “destroyed” and they actually had to graft some ligament from his wrist to use in the procedure. He said there are actually no pins but that they had to use some metal at both ends of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) to anchor it.

The “official” and “recommended” prognosis would be 3-6 months of inactivity, but if you know Julien, we’re guessing that’s a little long.

But of course, we’re dealing with Julien Benek here, so there’s more to the story…

Julien told us that it’s the same thumb injury he sustained at the Seattle Supercross in last year! He took a short time off the bike but didn’t have it fixed. Yes, that means he rode the entire 2023 Canadian Triple Crown Series MX Nationals with a broken thumb!

Julien struggling with the pain and the conditions in San Francisco. | Tree Three Media photo

He’s currently got a 1/2 cast on the underside of his hand and arm with a tensor bandage holding it in place. At this point, Julien hopes he feels strong enough to race the Seattle Supercross on March 23rd, just 2 months away.

Good luck with your recovery, Julien.