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I seriously doubt KTM would go through the trouble of hiring a team trainer and then make it "optional" to their riders. This is about them taking steps to control the quality and consistency of their riders in order to maximize their return on investment. That doesn't happen if you make it optional.
The most interesting short term speculation has to be what CP377 would be able to do under Aldon. Same could be said about Wilson. Those two riders are potential race winners if they can get it right.
I would expect KTM to only force high dollar riders to use Aldon... he can only train so many riders anyway.
"The factory riders of the KTM GROUP and riders in our Junior program in the future will exclusively use the possibilities that Aldon Baker offers with his first class ranch and training center in Florida."
Doesn't sound like they will allow riders to opt out and use a different trainer.
I personally have no idea whether they will force it on them or not but if they do I cannot see it turning out well, different things work for different people.
I will be curious to see how this is handled within the team.
I will say that I am more frustrated than jealous but I hope in the long run this leads to other teams hiring strength and conditioning coaches.
I highly doubt that.
Do you honestly think CP could last in Aldons program?
I highly doubt that as well.
This was a move to stop Aldon from training their competition. Simple as that.
I can see them saying to the riders that are coming up and yet to be signed, you HAVE to work with Aldon and that being a stipulation in their contract. But not the current crop of guys.
Pit Row
http://pulpmxshow.com/show/302
For what it's worth, he said having one trainer for an entire team does not work.
I dont know how it will work if they are forced to work with him.
Aldon himself has indicated that he does his best work when working with a select small group of riders.
As some have already indicated, I doubt Aldon would end up working with any/every KTM/Husq sponsored rider. I tend to agree with what you said about this being a move to prevent the competition from using Aldon.
As for the comments about his property, true he did purchase RV's property within the last couple of years.
Baker bought his own land to start his operation.
If Jeremy Martin was being trained by Baker people would use him as another example of how great his riders are. If one of his many "failed" prospects (though I'd say that is a stupid way of labeling riders who by most measures are extremely successful although not championship-winning) did good we would have heard how it was all thanks to Aldon Baker, but when they don't people shrug it off as a matter of him not "gelling with the program".
I am not bashing Aldon Bakers knowledge as a trainer here, but I do have to say that it is a rather unscientific way to look at things when you only lift out the positive results from a sample. Give enough monkeys enough time to hammer away at a keyboard and at some point they will have, purely by chance, mashed out the entire collection of Shakespeare. That does not make them genius (or the one supposedly training them, however that would work), that is just normal distribution and chance at work together with a large enough selection.
Someone will most likely be quick in telling me that "there are some very smart people behind these choices" and I am not going to argue with that. But I am going to remind that someone that it is also a known fact that riders can be picky about which boot they put on first or how their pre-race routine should pan out. Athletes (in all sports) are known to have well-documented habits that they need to go through to be able to focus and perform, but no sane person would ever try to argue that there is anything more to it than head-games. If KTM can spend hundreds of thousands on a placebo that make their riders perform and thus make KTM millions in return, that is a good investment. Full stop.
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