Motocross Training Blog

Maintaining a Lead

Let’s be honest now.  If RV2 wouldn’t have crashed himself out of the series, the 2010 Supercross Championship would look very different.  Ryan Dungey did a great job of staying consistent and maintaining a drive to keep him on the podium.  Winning championships at that level takes ridiculous talent and skill.  With all of that winning, both of these guys know how to maintain a lead and keep it; each and every week.

One thing that I notice between champions and contenders are that the champs never look back.  They are not concerned about what is behind them.  They are focused on what is ahead of them and keep their vision on the next obstacle.  Even when practicing, looking back throws me off rhythm.  You cannot expect to race forward if you’re always thinking about the people behind you.  Like I said last week, you want to race the track and block out the competitors.  Not to say that Mike Alessi is a bad rider, but when I watch him race, I can tell he looks behind him more than most riders.  I’m not saying this is the reason why he hasn’t won a championship, but RV2 and RD5 don’t really look back….

When you have a nice lead on 2^nd place, guarding the inside is not the best idea.  Sure, you are closing the door, but it is pointless when you have the option of taking your normal line.  However, once things get tighter, a lot of times, the inside line is usually a good passing option.  Keeping the other rider on the outside of you allows you to choose between the inside or outside.  This gives you the option to sweep out and block them from passing you.

Obviously, practicing this can be somewhat tough.  Each race situation is different and anything can happen.  However, just be aware of where the rider is behind you and keep your line.  Riding defensively can sometimes slow you down, so just keep concentrating and racing ahead.

Racing the Track

It has been a while since I have written an article, but between exams and moving out of my apartment, I have been going like crazy.  But, I have something to look forward to….nationals.  This goes for professional and amateur.  By now, most of the Area Qualifiers are finished up and the Regional Qualifiers are shaping up.  The Area races are more like your local races with a few new people.  But for the most part, you will be racing some familiar faces.  However, once you get to the Regional race, there are going to some big names.

No matter what region you are from or what class you race, there is always going to be one person that everyone is worried about.  I can remember when I was at an Area Qualifier a few years back and there was one guy I was always worried about.  He was consistently up front and I could never catch him.  So, the whole time I was on the line, I was thinking about how fast he was.  I doubted myself and my abilities before my bike was even started.  This negative thinking played a big part and screwed up my race.

One of my biggest problems was that I would always put the “faster” person on a pedestal.  I would compare myself to them and always seem to trick myself into thinking they were so much better than me.  These kids who you see on videos and in magazines are just like you.  They are human and they can be beaten.  However, instead of trying to race them, race the track.

That is how every great rider trains and keeps their speed up.  When you stop worrying about who is on the gate with you and you ride the track, it is easier for you to get in the “zone” and settle into a fast race pace.  You almost need to look at the other riders as moving obstacles.  They are just in the way and you just need to get around them.  That’s it.  Attacking the track will help you keep your lap times down and you will always be charging when others are cruising.

If you qualified for a Regional race, congrats.  Just remember that everyone on the gate has two arms and two legs like you do.  Race the track and don’t worry about the other riders.

Rough Jump Faces

For the most part, a rough track doesn’t bother me.  In fact, it makes riding better because it challenges you at a higher level.  Sure, that sounds pretty corny, but it is true.  As you ride more and more on rough tracks, you start to get into a flow that just keeps you going.  However, the only downside, for me anyway, is rough jump faces.  Give me fast rollers, destroyed turns and braking bumps, but chewed up jumps make my skin crawl.  However, just like the rest of the track, if you keep the fundamentals in mind, you should be fine.

First of all, body position is pretty important.  Normally, I like to keep a pretty neutral position over the seat.  The attack position is a sure way to get over an obstacle cleanly and jump faces are no different.  As the track gets rougher and rougher, you need to put more emphasis on squeezing the bike with your legs.  You are probably pretty sick of hearing that, but it helps a ton.  If you hit something that throws your tire out, you will be in more control of the bike’s rear end.

Another aspect is power.  When the track is smooth, you can get away with letting off on the face of a jump.  But, when that same face gets chewed up, letting off the gas is bad.  When there is no drive from the rear wheel, the bike has a tendency (especially four strokes) to throw all the weight forward.  If you hit a kicker or a rock, you could be on the ground before you know what happened.  Keeping the bike in the right gear helps tremendously as well.  I always like to hit rough faces with a smooth, hearty dose of throttle.  Cracking the gas open just spins the rear wheel and chews up the face even more.  However, when you put the power to the ground effectively and tract through everything, you prevent the rear wheel from any kind of hopping or something going wrong.

Trusting your ability and remembering the fundamentals are the best ways to get through anything.  As with most rough tracks, hitting the sides or any line other than the main helps keep you away from the hole, bumps and kickers.  Keeping the power to the ground is important takes a little bit to get used to, especially in wet conditions.  But like I said, keep yourself in the attack position and squeezing the bike will keep you on two wheels and ahead of everyone else.

Security in Protection

By now, everyone in the motocross community has heard about Jesse Masterpool’s unfortunate injury.  The young star looked promising his whole career and I am sure that had he not has this injury, he would be battling the factory riders for a podium spot in a few years.  It seems like the serious injuries started with Ernesto Fonseca (now I am not saying that his was the only serious injury), but it seems like we are hearing more and more stories of spinal cord injuries or even fatal accidents.

Everyone knows what they are getting into when they ride a dirtbike, that’s why we ride. It seems like racing in general has taken on a new level and things are getting serious; even in the amateur ranks, kids are getting bikes that rival professional race teams.  The speed is getting ridiculous and the bikes and equipment get better and better each passing year.  If you throw a pipe on a 450, odds are, you will be pushing the low 50’s in horsepower.

That is just crazy.  Most people can’t even handle the stock power, let alone a modified beast.  However, with the technology advancements in mechanics, the advancements in protection have stepped up as well.  The Leatt Brace has saved thousands of riders from paralysis and chest protectors are not just a piece of plastic anymore.  Now I know that some of the protection costs a pretty penny, but having that security is well worth the cost.

I have crashed, washed out and swapped out too many times to count, but I was able to walk away from each one (knock on wood) because I had a quality helmet, neck protection, and a chest protector.  At first I felt like I couldn’t even move with everything on, but now I feel naked without everything.  Leatt, EVS and other companies are coming out with some great stuff and I urge everyone to look into their products.

I don’t know Jesse nor I have met him, but I have him in my thoughts and hoping for the best.  Please, try and save up, beg your parents or do whatever you have to (legally) to protect yourself so you can keep doing what you love…riding.

Blitzing through whoops

Most of us will never ride a true pro level, stadium supercross track.  For those of you who say you could, I would love to see you hit the triples and whoops.  Speaking of whoops, those can really be a time saver or a time killer.  Even if you aren’t hitting whoops in a stadium, they can be pretty darn intimidating.  Getting over this factor of fear is a necessary step in hitting the cleanly and riding through them, instead of ending up on the ground.

Before you even commit to the whoops, getting yourself straight and steady is number one.  Going into any kind whoops like this will have eating soil before the second whoop.  If you are just coming out of a turn, remember to weight the outside foot peg and roll the throttle on to ensure you don’t get the rear end out too far.  Once you are shooting straight, you want look ahead and get your line through the whoops picked out.  You don’t want to just bomb in there wherever the bike takes you.  If this happens, you end up all over the place and hit uneven peaks.

So, you are all set to get through these.  Before your front wheel even hits the section, you need to shift up, possibly even twice.  This is so your engine doesn’t tap out half way through.  Since the rear wheel revs out in between peaks, the RPMs grow progressively as you get further and further into the whoops.  When your RPMs are lower, the suspension is more supple and the rear shock absorbs the peaks much better.

Now you can finally begin to blitz through the whoops.  Holding the throttle steady as you approach the set can be scary, but if you chop the throttle, it is even worse.  So, just keep her steady and it’ll be much easier.  If you stand on the balls of your feet and point your toes inwards, your knees will naturally want to grip the bike…which is necessary for anything in motocross, but this is especially important.  Standing in that attack position with a slight lean back will help get that front wheel light so you can skim over the peaks.

Depending on the type of peaks, you may want to change your approach.  The more peaked the whoops are, the more you want to attack and skim across them.  If they are more of a mogul type section, you can lean back more and use more throttle to get the front end up; almost wheeling through them.  If you commit to the section and come in straight, you should be okay.  Start small and work your way up to faster speeds and deeper whoops and before you know it; you’ll be skimming through them like Speedy Reedy!

Saving Energy on Rough Tracks

Rough tracks separate the men from the boys.  If you can race a National at race pace for 35 minutes, you are a man.  Plain and simple.  However, for those of us who just have to worry about 20 minute motos, survival is the only thing going through our minds.  Riding smooth tracks are fun, but in order for you to really get better, you need to ride the brutal stuff.  Saving time and energy will allow you to ride longer and get more experience than your competition.  So, here are a few things to remember if you want to conserve energy and ride longer:

1. Riding in a higher gear will make a world of difference.  When rev out your motor, it causes the suspension to bind.  That revalve you just paid for is useless if your motor is screaming for mercy.  You will end up dancing all over braking bumps and your rebound will kick a lot more, causing you to get a death grip, which ultimately leads to arm pump.  Another reason to ride a gear higher is because you will have more traction and less wheel spin.  You will dig in and be able to get the front wheel light if needed.
2. Smoother throttle application helps tremendously, especially on 450s.  If you dive into corners, square them up and dump the clutch, that burst of power will eventually wear you out.  Flowing through with the track and steadily applying the gas will keep your arms in their sockets and have you in control.  The quick bursts of power can get to be a handful when the track is full of acceleration bumps and other obstructions.
3. Working the sides of the track will save a lot of energy!  The main lines are generally in the middle because they are the fastest and easiest way around the track…early in the day.  But when the sun dries out the soil and the main line gets too gnarly, look at the outsides/insides.  The sides will have less usage than the middle part, giving you a much smoother track to ride on.
4. Last but not least, stand.  Sitting down on a rough track kills my back and I get extremely sore the next day.  I know it is easy to just sit down when you get tired, but sitting actually results in you getting more tired.  Your hips, knees, and ankles provide an extra set of suspension.  When you sit down, your back and core take a beating.  This leads to poor form over the course of the moto.  When your form is off, your whole riding and stamina are off as well.