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Also, Roczen has never been a bar banger, to expect him to start now isn't very realistic.
Go back to battling Eli in 250 outdoors. Eli was charging like a maniac at the end and Kenny was wilting.
450 outdoors – Massive lead and beat Dungey but Ryan closed stronger. Even in 16 at his best he wasn't as good at the end as he started.
And every 450 SX season, pre-or-post arms, it's been similar.
Sounds more mental to me.
Euros are known to carry better corner speed and euro products such as pipes tend to produce a stronger curve through out the RPM range although have lower Max HP increase in comparison to US products, Mainly due to the "euro style" of riding. There's no shame in acknowledging that KROC is an out and out AMA racer and as such his set up and riding style has changed to a more "US" style. Just rewatch Redbud and watch specifically Tomac compared to Coldenhoff, Tomac buries the bike, turns abruptly and gases hard. Coldenhoff comes in abit slower, carries speed lower in berms and rolls the throttle on a touch earlier.
This Euro vs US comparison is silly now.
Euro is better outdoors US is better Indoors. Not to say there isn't riders from either side who can make it on the other side of the pond it's just how it is now and there's no shame in it.
I do wish more US riders would come to MXGP's as i think it would encourage alot of diehard AMA fans to watch it. The hype leading up to RV doing it was huge. Such a shame he bowed out the way he did.
Mentally it would have been hard for him in SX too. Those 3 have about 140 main events wins together (and at some point there was also MC in there with his 72). Those 3 crushed a lot of top riders (Tortelli, Windham, DV, Lusk, etc).
That said, I really think Webb will now turn this year into a couple more SX championships. He has beat down the big guns (Tomac, Roczen, Musquin, Anderson, Osborne), and he is for now more consistent and/or faster than the new crop (Sexton, Ferrandis, AC, Pless').
I think is weak how the SX season finished, he got 2 place and he has not acknowledge his team for busting their asses hoping for a SX championship that was well within reach... ( I know he of course did it on person but on this day social media is everything and for him more... He shared all of his surgerys and stuff)
On the last motospy you could see the frustration of his mechanic after webb passed him.
He is an awesome rider, but lacks in the racer department to cooper.
Stop saying it's physical, he can ride a main event just fine. Unless of course in the coming days he releases a PR about how he has been dealing with yada yada yada again.
And again I think Roczen is great! this was his best year on SX
Tomac doesn't mind making an enemy out of Barcia because Barcia is going to Barcia regardless of how much respect Tomac gives him when passing him.
Guys like Barcia and Anderson just have to ride that way because they don't particularly have the speed to pass certain riders clean. Nothing wrong with most of their passes, it's legal racing, but if you're going for the front wheel habitually, you're going to be on the receiving end periodically.
Webb and Roczen in SLC is a good example. Roczen rode a little more aggressive with Webb, so Webb returned the favor.
Pit Row
I dont blame him for his moment of victory & he did get to him, but I kind of like a gracious winner not a big head, I know the USA way is to win at all costs but hope Kenny can win again considering the terrible injuries has had.
Any one else think Webb's gloating bit, can some times bite you on the arse.
Maybe this was the bite in the arse for roczen of being cocky or whatever and maybe some day it will be the other way around..
The difference I see between Ken and Cooper is that Cooper has a phenomenal ability to get "in the zone" when it counts. So many races this year he was predicted to do poorly based on qualifying, or his heat race. Yet, when the main came around his switch flicked on and the rest was history. RV had this ability too - to not be affected by anything else when it came Main Event time.
Ken on the other hand tends to pop out of his zone fairly frequently. This could be due to the fact he has had to deal with more trauma from his '17 crash, his '18 crash with Webb (I made a post about that one) his trainer / brother-n-law becoming a paralyzed due to his supercross crash while they were riding together. Or, it could be something physical, or a combination of both as psychological trauma becomes stored in the body.
Part of trauma -whether it is major, or something minor- is that parts of the brain go on high alert towards other similar potential threats. Getting those regions of the brain to deactivate back to their natural state has nothing to do with mental toughness. Whatever is going on with Ken, you can definitely see he easily comes out of his zone or struggles to get in the zone on certain days. This coming out of the zone is also not a matter of mental strength if psychological trauma is a cause. There are neurochemical processes happening when a person is repeatedly defeated. Neurochemical processes also occur due to trauma responses (fight, flight, or freeze).
As I said, both of these guys are mentally tough or they would not be where they are today. There just might be more stuff going on in Ken's head that is more out of his control. Hopefully he and his psychologist can get things straightened out for next season. My guess based on what I have heard Ken say is that they are taking more of a mindfulness approach to the season which is going to do very little if psychological trauma is involved. I hope I'm wrong because I want to see him win a SX 450 title before he retires.
Sincerely,
professional shrink
When he lost at the MXDN you could see his frustration and how pissed he was for losing in that way.
He growing up at the Cianciarulo shadow.
I mean every mx racer has had injuries, fears and so on... So I am not shrink but yeah Cooper is mentally tougher than Roczen is easy to see.
Let's give Cooper credit, he is tough as nails, and would be cool to stop the "yeah but kenny had a horrible injury, but yeah kenny must have traumas, kenny this kenny that")
I mean Christophe pourcel injury was way worse than Kenny and he came back to win 2 SX championships and so freaking close of 2 MX... and never was justified the way Kenny is all the time.
I definitely was not trying to take anything away from Cooper's accomplishments, or imply "excuses" for Roczen. Watching Cooper execute this season has made me a big fan of him, too. He is extremely tough, has a killer race instinct to make things happen. He is a 2x supercross champion for a reason.
I see your point in bringing up Cooper's crash and Christophe Pourcel's injury. This may sound counterintuitive, but the size or seriousness of a "life event" doesn't determine what type of trauma response - if one is even present - will occur. Some people can serve multiple tours of combat and be totally fine, whereas another person might not even make it through a single tour and end up in my office. Trauma has more to do with how the memory is stored, or encoded into the brain, than what actually happens.
There are also a lot of variables involved on whether a trauma will be imprinted, or impact the brain. For example - and not to take anything away from Webb - but the fact he was able to start rehabbing immediately to finish out the remainder of the series has a positive impact on reducing the risk of the event having a lasting impact. As a mental experiment, imagine having a high speed car wreck where you are immediately able get out of the car and run to the side of the highway until the medics arrive, versus being in the same car wreck but being trapped in the vehicle. In one case you feel completely powerless, your safety is at risk, you lack the control and ability to help yourself. Repeating similar events is another factor.
The only lasting impact I remember Pourcel having was difficulty with heat after his crash. I think if he lost those two outdoor championships due to mentally collapsing in the middle of motos a topic like this may have come up with him. From what I can remember he lost them due to a wonky crash and late season DNF.
- We've called it "beast mode" when Tomac blasts through the pack.
- Kenny has had an ability to cut through the pack/get a great start on a regular basis (until recently).
Cooper doesn't seem to have many bad days, and has more good days than most. He definitely seems to be comfortable with his bike setup and you hardly see him out of control.
- At SL1 I was impressed how hard Marv tried and looked dicey, yet Coop just looked totally on the prowl, in control.
- Yes, Cooper has had practice crashes but has been solid in mains
Given how Roczen crashed out of the lead at SLII you could argue he was taking more risk and crashed.
I think Cooper is just faster more often. Deep, I know
Ok that was deep hehe.
So English is noy my first language.
But you still not accepting that Webb is mentally stronger?
And c'mon Pourcel couldn't walk for months!!! I think that difficulty with heat was not the only thing that he struggled with..
Imagine if Pourcel would have share all the things he went trough like Roczen did...
Anyways is good to read a professional view on this... Im fan of all this dudes they are gnarly.. each one of them (all of them have issues, fears, past injuries and so on)
Cheers
"He growing up at the Cianciarulo shadow."
And I like AC, as he seems like a really cool dude, but the fact remains that he had MOST of the publicity before they turned Pro.
I did a Poll on here awhile back when Coop was on the Racer X cover as Rider of the Year and I got blasted for it.
I wonder how many change their mind after a complete dominant display by Coop in the last race?
Yes Adam has a better personality and is a NATURAL in front of the camera, but the fact remains Webb is one of best Racers we have seen in recent years and would be more liked if he didn't tuck his ears in his hat.
Anyone remember when Reed did the same thing early in his career and had the diamond earring?
Who knows maybe Coop will change his hat technique and suddenly gain thousands of new fans.
First off Pourcel is one of my favorite riders and I am sure he went through hell to get back to where he did. I think it is incredible all he accomplished after his injury.
Overall, I think Webb is better at limiting outside distractions, staying focused, performing under pressure, has more confidence, etc. His racing instincts for passing are top notch too. If that is what people mean by mental toughness, well then yes, I think Webb is more mentally fit. Hell, just to survive Aldon Baker's training program takes a lot of mental strength to stay committed.
I do think this championship did come down to who was mentally fitter and Webb showed us why he is the two time supercross champion.
With Ken, given his past and what I do for a living I can totally see why he may be struggling in that area. Of course, there is a lot of speculation, but the fact he hired a sport psychologist says a lot in and of itself. If part of his challenges are due to a trauma response, then assuming he needs to just "be tougher" is not a good way to compare his mental fitness against Webb. Webb, Ken, and Pourcel all have my complete respect with what they have been through and accomplished.
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