Cooper Webb...the same rider w/o Aldon Baker training?

davistld01
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davistld01
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a winner, and a champion. But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now. He didn't look like much of a winner...or potential champion then at all. Then came his KTM contract...and being trained under the guide of Aldon Baker.

A lot of things have been said about Baker...and his brand of coaching, but mostly that he has built an empire of building champions starting with RC...and now training all of KTM (and their affiliates) factory riders exclusively.

Do you think that, had Cooper Webb not signing with KTM and having the opportunity to train under Aldon Baker, he would be anywhere close to the rider he is today?
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Moto520
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Moto520 4/27/2021 7:53am
4/27/2021 7:53am
I think Baker put to rest any doubt that he had in regards to fitness. He wouldn't be as fit without this program and fitness is key to being able to push hard for 20 minutes. So.....he would not be the same without Baker.
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visser62
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visser62 4/27/2021 7:53am
4/27/2021 7:53am
I remember that he always had the racecraft before he was on KTM. In the 250s he was so good at reading what other riders were going to do. But he has mentioned that before Aldon he didn't train at 100%. He said he took it too easy and didn't know he should be pushing himself to the limit during the week.
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Dirty Points 4/27/2021 7:55am
4/27/2021 7:55am Edited Date/Time 4/27/2021 8:38am
He knows how to do it now, but Aldon helped get him in the work and mind space to win at the top level.

On the podium of his first winning season in 2019: "I got into second, and I was thinking I was happy with a podium, but then I thought: 'What would Aldon say about that?' And I kept pushing."
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Zycki11
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Zycki11 4/27/2021 7:59am
4/27/2021 7:59am
Aldon does something so simple. He takes away the guess work and holds riders accountable.
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JOE_SPROCKETS#1 4/27/2021 7:59am
4/27/2021 7:59am
training with Baker seems to help with confidence as well... not just fitness
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ShawdowGlen
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ShawdowGlen 4/27/2021 9:24am
4/27/2021 9:24am
What??!?? -

"But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now."

Cooper had the assassin strengths and mental confidence in the 250 class.

Most would blame his troubles on the YZ 450....

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cwel11
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cwel11 4/27/2021 9:25am
4/27/2021 9:25am
Maybe it’s a mental aspect as well as physical. If you’ve got the guy in your corner that’s worked with RC, JS, RV, and RD when they were winning championships, I’d think
It definitely wouldn’t hurt your mental state. Obviously Aldon has his guys fit but MX/SX (or any sport really) is such a mental game.
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Zycki11
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Zycki11 4/27/2021 9:25am
4/27/2021 9:25am
ShawdowGlen wrote:
What??!?? - [i]"But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now."[/i] Cooper had...
What??!?? -

"But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now."

Cooper had the assassin strengths and mental confidence in the 250 class.

Most would blame his troubles on the YZ 450....

Not a smart person lol. It was a combination of the two. But when you have a out of shape racer not putting in 100%. That is going to take the cake over the bike.
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Downunder 4/27/2021 12:33pm
4/27/2021 12:33pm
Webb has said it himself he only trained at about 80% before going to The Baker Factory. He got away with that in the 250 class relying on pure talent. That strategy didn’t work for longer motos on a 450 against faster rider in the premier class.
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davistld01
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davistld01 4/27/2021 12:35pm
4/27/2021 12:35pm
ShawdowGlen wrote:
What??!?? - [i]"But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now."[/i] Cooper had...
What??!?? -

"But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now."

Cooper had the assassin strengths and mental confidence in the 250 class.

Most would blame his troubles on the YZ 450....

You Cooper fanboys get bent easy, don't you? Damn!

I should have qualified that statement with "...the first two years he was on the Yamaha 450...". Better now?

I still stand that Coop wasn't near the rider when he hit the 450's that he looked to be on the 250's. Being on the KTM, and in the Baker program has allowed him to reach his potential.
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Kelz87
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Kelz87 4/27/2021 12:46pm
4/27/2021 12:46pm
I’d blame the Yamaha team, if not the just the bike itself. (Mike Sleeter said Coop wasn’t allowed to ride the bike stock and build from there)

And no doubt Aldon helped his fitness and psyche. Cooper’s craft, self belief, and willingness to win all tied together at this point
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UpTiTe 4/27/2021 1:18pm
4/27/2021 1:18pm
davistld01 wrote:
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a...
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a winner, and a champion. But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now. He didn't look like much of a winner...or potential champion then at all. Then came his KTM contract...and being trained under the guide of Aldon Baker.

A lot of things have been said about Baker...and his brand of coaching, but mostly that he has built an empire of building champions starting with RC...and now training all of KTM (and their affiliates) factory riders exclusively.

Do you think that, had Cooper Webb not signing with KTM and having the opportunity to train under Aldon Baker, he would be anywhere close to the rider he is today?
Aldon builds champions? Name 2 riders he “built” into champions.

Cooper jells with that bike, that was the biggest game changer for him.
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jorgechavez 4/27/2021 1:23pm
4/27/2021 1:23pm
No one on this side of the pond has managed to be competitive at the very top on the recent generations of the Yamaha 450. There is no doubt in my mind training with Aldon is a benefit for Webb, but I think getting off that bike and on the KTM has been the biggest difference. Cooper was an animal his last year on a 250, he won an outdoor title with a broken wrist so it's not like he couldn't win without Aldon.
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toddh
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toddh 4/27/2021 1:36pm
4/27/2021 1:36pm
Wonder what magic he'll work on with Plessinger?
MyBobbym
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MyBobbym 4/27/2021 1:43pm
4/27/2021 1:43pm
davistld01 wrote:
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a...
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a winner, and a champion. But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now. He didn't look like much of a winner...or potential champion then at all. Then came his KTM contract...and being trained under the guide of Aldon Baker.

A lot of things have been said about Baker...and his brand of coaching, but mostly that he has built an empire of building champions starting with RC...and now training all of KTM (and their affiliates) factory riders exclusively.

Do you think that, had Cooper Webb not signing with KTM and having the opportunity to train under Aldon Baker, he would be anywhere close to the rider he is today?
I hope not or he has wasted a lot of money.


WTF... of course he isn't the same rider.

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Bingslayer 4/27/2021 2:03pm
4/27/2021 2:03pm
It shows that there was, without a doubt, some major issues with the factory yamaha team. Just look how much better their ex riders are doing now, even riders that are still on a yamaha, just under star are doing much better. You can speculate and deny all you want but the proof is in the pudding.
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ShawdowGlen
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ShawdowGlen 4/27/2021 2:11pm
4/27/2021 2:11pm
Bingslayer wrote:
It shows that there was, without a doubt, some major issues with the factory yamaha team. Just look how much better their ex riders are doing...
It shows that there was, without a doubt, some major issues with the factory yamaha team. Just look how much better their ex riders are doing now, even riders that are still on a yamaha, just under star are doing much better. You can speculate and deny all you want but the proof is in the pudding.

Truth ^^^^


...and I've always been a YZ/Yamaha fan.

Dirty Points 4/27/2021 2:14pm
4/27/2021 2:14pm Edited Date/Time 4/27/2021 2:25pm
toddh wrote:
Wonder what magic he'll work on with Plessinger?
Plessinger seems to have already rounded the corner in terms of speed. It does look like he could still use some of the late-race charge that all of Aldon's guys seem to be able to put together.

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Titan1
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Titan1 4/27/2021 2:41pm
4/27/2021 2:41pm
I always thought that the riders that benefit most from Aldon are the naturally “heavier” dudes (RV, Zach Osborne, RV, for example), or the already insanely driven on fitness on their own guys (Like Dungey)...the naturally skinny guys-especially the insanely talented skinny guys-seem to struggle with his program (or not benefit from it as much), like Roczen, or AC.

There are exceptions, I’m sure, but Webb seems to fall under the former category, so I’m not surprised to see Aldon making a huge positive difference for him.
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Conkey
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Conkey 4/27/2021 4:44pm
4/27/2021 4:44pm
I think bad bike set up, not training properly and getting hurt a couple times on the Yamaha 450 was the problem his first two big bike years. Wish we could have seen him at full capacity early on but glad we get to see him now like this.
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Aussie_power_sports 4/27/2021 8:19pm
4/27/2021 8:19pm
I think its 70% KTM and 30% Baker.

The yamaha factory effort was crap, look back at all the riders who've said so or done better after leaving the team or manufactuer
Mit12
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Mit12 4/27/2021 8:34pm
4/27/2021 8:34pm
Not to many riders can set their fastest lap of the race on the last couple of laps! Webb seems to do it alot.
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patrickadizzle 4/27/2021 10:30pm
4/27/2021 10:30pm
Watch Malcolm's GoPro from SLC, he's behind Webb most of the race and his KTM just looks incredibly dialed in the corners, makes it look easy.
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ShawdowGlen 4/27/2021 10:48pm
4/27/2021 10:48pm
patrickadizzle wrote:
Watch Malcolm's GoPro from SLC, he's behind Webb most of the race and his KTM just looks incredibly dialed in the corners, makes it look easy.
About 2:41 on that video....Coop in the air peers just to the right to see where Malcolm is.

That was some great video...and great riding by Mookie. Loved his emotion at the end of the vid as he finished. Very cool.

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Ramrod
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Ramrod 4/28/2021 4:03am
4/28/2021 4:03am
cwel11 wrote:
Maybe it’s a mental aspect as well as physical. If you’ve got the guy in your corner that’s worked with RC, JS, RV, and RD when...
Maybe it’s a mental aspect as well as physical. If you’ve got the guy in your corner that’s worked with RC, JS, RV, and RD when they were winning championships, I’d think
It definitely wouldn’t hurt your mental state. Obviously Aldon has his guys fit but MX/SX (or any sport really) is such a mental game.
This sport, other sports, practically every aspect of success in life is "such a mental game".

As good as Aldon is training his riders physically he is good at preparing them mentally.
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Timo
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Timo 4/28/2021 4:38am
4/28/2021 4:38am
Definitely the bike, look how much better Justin Barcia is riding, everyone says he "looks" so much more comfortable. He "looks" like he's sooo much faster everywhere on the track. He's definitely on another level with the steel frame, I mean he's won so many races this year. He's gone from the 4th best guy to the 4th best guy, sooo much better. It's just gotta be the bike, he just "looks" so comfortable... I mean he made the same change going from the old style Yamaha to Suzuki, made him a completely different rider....
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JOE_SPROCKETS#1 4/28/2021 5:49am
4/28/2021 5:49am Edited Date/Time 4/28/2021 5:51am
davistld01 wrote:
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a...
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a winner, and a champion. But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now. He didn't look like much of a winner...or potential champion then at all. Then came his KTM contract...and being trained under the guide of Aldon Baker.

A lot of things have been said about Baker...and his brand of coaching, but mostly that he has built an empire of building champions starting with RC...and now training all of KTM (and their affiliates) factory riders exclusively.

Do you think that, had Cooper Webb not signing with KTM and having the opportunity to train under Aldon Baker, he would be anywhere close to the rider he is today?
UpTiTe wrote:
Aldon builds champions? Name 2 riders he “built” into champions.

Cooper jells with that bike, that was the biggest game changer for him.
Anderson and Osborne?

and Anderson hasn't looked the same since leaving and going to cali to train.
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UpTiTe 4/28/2021 6:11am
4/28/2021 6:11am
davistld01 wrote:
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a...
There are lots of things that are said about Cooper Webb...and most are good. Like him or not personally...he has what it takes to be a winner, and a champion. But, the first two years he was on the Yamaha he displayed little if any of the strengths that he shows now. He didn't look like much of a winner...or potential champion then at all. Then came his KTM contract...and being trained under the guide of Aldon Baker.

A lot of things have been said about Baker...and his brand of coaching, but mostly that he has built an empire of building champions starting with RC...and now training all of KTM (and their affiliates) factory riders exclusively.

Do you think that, had Cooper Webb not signing with KTM and having the opportunity to train under Aldon Baker, he would be anywhere close to the rider he is today?
UpTiTe wrote:
Aldon builds champions? Name 2 riders he “built” into champions.

Cooper jells with that bike, that was the biggest game changer for him.
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 wrote:
Anderson and Osborne?

and Anderson hasn't looked the same since leaving and going to cali to train.
Anderson was a champion before Aldon and let’s be honest, he hasn’t looked the same since he won the title.

I’ll give you Zack.
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JOE_SPROCKETS#1 4/28/2021 7:07am
4/28/2021 7:07am
UpTiTe wrote:
Aldon builds champions? Name 2 riders he “built” into champions.

Cooper jells with that bike, that was the biggest game changer for him.
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 wrote:
Anderson and Osborne?

and Anderson hasn't looked the same since leaving and going to cali to train.
UpTiTe wrote:
Anderson was a champion before Aldon and let’s be honest, he hasn’t looked the same since he won the title.

I’ll give you Zack.
I could be wrong but i thought Anderson went to baker factory before his 450 s/x championship? I'm not talking 250 reginal titles pal.
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UpTiTe 4/28/2021 7:18am
4/28/2021 7:18am
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 wrote:
Anderson and Osborne?

and Anderson hasn't looked the same since leaving and going to cali to train.
UpTiTe wrote:
Anderson was a champion before Aldon and let’s be honest, he hasn’t looked the same since he won the title.

I’ll give you Zack.
JOE_SPROCKETS#1 wrote:
I could be wrong but i thought Anderson went to baker factory before his 450 s/x championship? I'm not talking 250 reginal titles pal.
Yes buddy, he was with Aldon when he won his 450 title, pal.

So there you go chum, you have your two riders.

Aldon has far more failures than success, it’s ludicrous to think RC, RV, Dungey or Webb needed him to win.
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