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Natural talent is real IMO and thats why the world is beautiful, because so many talents at so many different skills.
Even athletic performance is genetic, like the muscle composition of fast or slow twitch fibers.... Mark Cavendish is the most prolific bike sprinter the world has ever seen, but he struggles even to complete many tour stages.
He started racing our local offroad series....first year owning a bike he's winning Novice (C class) overalls...moves up to Amateur (
Meanwhile...I raced Amateur for ever...best I could ever do was 7th overall Amateur. At 35 years old, I did move up to Expert, just because I was beating all the other old guys in Amateur...but I"m not where near the front of the Expert class like my brother is (best I've ever done, was 23rd overall, and 13th overall expert)...even though I have countless more hours on a bike than he does. (again this is a local off road series, with an average race participation of around 250/275 riders...so the talent isn't as deep as a national series).
He just has "it" (well, more of “it” than I have)...whatever "it" is...and I don't...
Granted, even as an old guy (I'm 41 years old), I'm still trying to improve...I've taken riding schools, focused on my technique, and always trying to figure out how to ride efficiently. One weakness now is fitness...and I could probably get a better result if I could get in better shape (I don't know if I could go any faster...but I could ride faster, for longer which would improve my results), but I'm probably going as fast now, as I ever have. And I take great joy in beating guys half my age...but I don't know that there is anything I can do that would get me to the level of speed my brother has.
and was lapped twice if I remember correctly! He's a local to these parts. When you see him ride in person it makes you ask yourself how TF can anyone beat that guy!
Let alone lap him twice!
Aliens! They're f'ing aliens!
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Some people have IT or they don't.
James Stewart and Jett are examples of having "IT"
Some have a different IT, that they can apply to succeed in MX, RC is an example of not really having the MX "IT" but having the heart and will of "It"....different, but it worked for him.
Same goes for almost any other sport, there are some who just have that tiny bit more of it.
When ever I go to a supercross race especially, I always try to keep in mind and tell those not familiar, that those guys flopping around in qualifying for the night shows, those guys are the track God somewhere. At their local track, they're track king, here, they look like amateur children at times. That's how wide the talent spread is from your local track to AMA Pro Supercross.
Those front guys, the elite guys, they have it
My older brother is so good at sports, naturally talented in a lot of things.
So me being younger I always looked up to him and I had to work harder to even try to compete with him in anything and I think that all that made me stronger, more focused in life in general.... He didn´t have to try or put effort and that made him kind of lazy because he knew he was so good at everything.
So I always tell him that I wish I had his natural talent with my comittment it would be perfect...
For me I am pretty good at driving (raced go karts locally and national) and everywhere I went I was beating the local kids with better equipment and stuff, it wasn´t hard it came natural buuuut eventually I was bored because it didn´t represent a challenge so when I started riding i was like DAMN!!! this is hard this is a freaking challenge and here I am not very good at MX but loving it so BAD because it´s so damn hard, every lap at a MX track you have to be focused, you are risking your health every second.
So right now after so many years I can beat my brother at MX but because everything I do on the week is thinking on the weekend. (sleep well, eat well, exercise) and I trained harder and more than him.. But I´m pretty sure that if him starts taking it a little more seriously he would beat me again haha
So yeah I believe there are people with natural talent, and combine that with hard work, comittment and there you have the best of the best.
PS: the daughter of my brother started riding and look her form, we didn´t have to give her instructions, she didn´t fall , she wasn´t scared at all (first day!!!) she has it IMO
Road Racing has taught me that you must focus on learning every aspect of the game if you're not a natural talent. Learn technique, learn how the motorcycle works, learn how your body works while riding a motorcycle. I've seen so many riders who just go ride and instead of learning, they blame every single thing besides themselves.
I started racing motocross about 9 months ago. It was rough, last place, just ROUGH. But as I apply that same strategy as I did with road racing, things are progressing much faster than I thought. I'm not a natural talent but i've learn that if you put in the effort, you can get "pro" level fast by learning. (I don't ever plan on getting to that near pro level with MX)
Delusion is a massive issue. I find those that are delusional about their "talent" often end up on the ground and hurt or quitting the sport because their ego can't handle it. Be honest with yourself, know that you suck and you will always suck. Because you suck, you must learn to get fast the smart way.
Quick story about delusion. In one of my first MX races last season, off the start I was right behind a rider. I stayed behind him the entire race. The next moto we were on the line and he was talking to his dad. "I would have podiumed if I didn't get such a bad start". No... no he wouldn't have. We got 18th and 19th place. Moto 2, I finished right behind him again and we both got top 10 starts and went backwards finishing around the same place as Moto 1.
Can anyone get near "pro" level fast? No, because some people simply lack the mentality it takes to get there.
Not exceptional athletes.
Being an athlete is nowhere near as important as coordination and something no one has said but vision is a big deal.
I remember reading an article years ago about Formula 1 racers and they as a rule of thumb had better than 20/20 vision.
I'm talking exceptional fast twitch muscles, above average vo2 max, lower than average heart rate or ability to operate at an extreme heart rate (while still able to make good decisions and think clearly), lactic acid threshold, strength-to-weight ratio (watts per kilo is the cyclist calculation).
The shit you're born with, not a learned skill like basketball.
Steph Curry has a god given talent - there's studies that suggest his brain can process the information sent from the nerves in his palm and fingers in a superhuman way, allowing him to set up to shoot quicker than anyone else with extreme accuracy. This is a talent moto guys probably don't have. I can guarantee Curry also has everything I listed above - fast twitch muscles, high vo2 max, high lactic acid threshold etc. If he didn't have that, his basketball talent would be worthless.
Pit Row
Problem you run into is you have the guys who work to be in shape and figure that's all it takes so they can ride incorrectly longer. Then you have the guys who work on riding but not the physical aspect and regardless of how effortless they ride, they wear out. The nerdy side of understanding your motorcycle isn't fun for everyone, but if they would learn it would help their brain understand the riding aspect better.
Every rider, regardless of skill level should work on fitness, technique, and understanding the physics of the motorcycle. Be an all-around worker if you want to reach your goals. I just think it's comical when guys don't want to do the work but want to be the fast guy. They throw money at the bike instead of throwing knowledge at their brain.
JS7 has talked about the days he felt untouchable, the track came at him extremely slow and he felt like he had all the time in the world to make the adjustments needed to go his maximum speed.
You can relate it to anything in any sports. When I played my first game of college ice hockey, the speed of the game felt crazy, my eyes/mind could barely keep up. Fast forward one year, the speed was normalized, almost felt slow. Looking around was way easier on my mind to take it all in.
When I first rode a 200hp superbike, coming into a braking zone at 180mph felt absolutely insane. I hopped back on my 90hp race bike and I could instantly brake later because my eyes were already getting use to the warp speed of the superbike.
It's all about normalizing the speed to your eyes. We all have experienced this as we progress as riders. Faster you get the slower your old "fast" use to feel.
Example I used is imagine going to Daytona Speedway and riding with Dale Jr, doing 200MPH for a few laps.
Then you take over the exact same car and go out, but you can't go the same speed, your brain can't process those speeds the way he can.
For the top guys, when they get in the zone, it's how it is for us on the local freeway, it feels natural to them because they can process it, some better than others.
Some say that Dale Sr could "See air" and many believed it, still do. That is part of having "it." You are not born with it.
Some people can process things faster, this is why people like Tom Brady are #1. He can process everything faster and output it to his arm faster than anyone else. You can't train for that. You can't buy that.
We all have some gift, for some it's racing. No matter what they are in or on, they are fast, like Pichon or Vale.
Us avg racers are so far away from success on a bike we cant even comprehend ..
I heard riders go "Oh man, I busted my ass today" and we both know it's no where near as hard or disciplined as RC or ET3
Too many riders think an hour of play riding with a few heaters tossed in is a workout. Seen it. Been disappointed by it.
That extra inch to greatness is too far of a reach for some.
If they start young, a certain amount of fearlessness (adrenaline junkie types) will rise to the top. Certainly hand eye coordination is important, and decent balance and basic athletic skills. (Some people can’t walk and chew gum)
At the pro level, factory guys, there’s something special for sure. A lot of it has got to be the ability to turn the brain off, no fear of death. Survival instinct makes mere mortals out of most of us right? The rest I believe can be built, stamina etc.
My statements come from witnessing and being involved with a large sample size of riders who have every opportunity to make it - good bikes, good parent support, proper coaching etc. - which really exposes any lack of talent or work ethic. I've seen parents hiring mental coaches and therapists to try to help unlock potential, but at the end of the day their body physically would not allow them to perform the way they needed to get to their highest potential.
Look at the J-Law example - you could say he just had an incredible talent, ability to process information quickly etc. so he is more mentally talented. What I saw, was a dude who did no off the bike training, that would ride rough ass Glen Helen literally until his bike ran out of gas. That dude was a supremely gifted athlete, combined with the mental edge it took.
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