So, 45-year mx fan and racer here. In my humble opinion, the U.S. has lost the plot in terms of its ability to compete on the world stage.
RJ, Wardy, O Show, Emig, MC, even Lechien and many others would not come back from a 5th place at the MXON with anything less than an attitude of "what needs to change, now?"
We lost to Latvia.
Even my favorite MX journalists like JT, Weege and Matthes seem okay with this. What happened? BTW, the GP crowd is coming here and taking all the glory.
The older racers grew up on gnarly tracks and were forced to adapt and excel in adversarial conditions. For example, RJ grew up at Carlsbad and could probably handle a shit Euro track with no sleep, bad food, or whatever. There is a story where RJ had to wake up Ward in the middle of the night before the race because Wardy was concussed.
I think there are a bunch of softie BS excuses coming from the American moto contingent right now.
It's your culture and I believe facilities are the problem, culture being number 1(the new America).
I was thinking about facilities, I'll just take Star for example, Star operates like a dick measuring contest, they want their riders to kill each other out there and the riders want to be the top dog.
The problem with this environment is that the riders want to be the top dog at the test track, whilst they are out there trying to beat each other they sacrifice technique in order to beat their team mates.
Using Deegan as an example, you have a rider who is good on a bike and never die and never loose attitude, he loves being the top dog, Instead of focusing on beating the guys at the test track what if he spent his whole time at star to fix his technique so he could ride a 450 properly?
Oh yeah the groomed tracks and lack of Amateur races are part of the problem but I don't see that being fixed any time soon.
We can’t sent so called B teams to Europe and expect to win. You writing this is almost the ultimate in American moto fans ignorance. This team gets mad props for going with two of the three guys going it was brand new bikes but they don’t set the pace for American moto at least 450 MX also When Hannah jumped on a 125 he trained for weeks on it not mere day and Injures effected everyone outside of Lativa and all the top teams had a guy out or injured in the case of Belgium. With Deegan and Sexton it’s a different story but then if Kay and Fernandez would have been there it would have been different again.
Old US teams had massive amounts of luck often times as well just like the winning French teams on some years. Good luck and healthy racers are the biggest factors. The guys got 5th and were the 4th best team and with that line up that’s all you could expect. The guys that went are not RJ and Wardy level MX racers. A bit of an overreaction you could say as well as the US placed 2nd in 23 and 24. Both of those teams had last minute replacements as well. US American Depth is not deep but you could make that argument for every country right now.
This has been beat to death as of late. Two main contributing factors, we’re soft and other countries caught up. I will say I’m by far one of the biggest 38 haters there is but right now he’s the only young American guy that really has grit. Which is wild to me because growing up a rich kid he should have every reason not to. Some Americans are really bothered by the fact we’re getting beat on our own soil. Personally I don’t really care what flag you fly unless it’s MXDN. The rest of the time I just want to see amazing riders doing amazing shit on dirt bikes I can only dream of doing.
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A question I often ask myself -and not about motocross.
Even Mitch is whining now, apparently it's all because the US can't use race fuel.
BS. Just need more fight in your dogs.
The MXoN is a very good example of American riders Prima Donna behavior and Euros just getting on with it. Men vs. boys. Numerous riders from American can't go for any number of reasons, 25-year-old Marchbanks not having a passport was unbelievable - maybe he needs mentorship - but most, not all, Euro riders just race it. No matter what, stock bikes , borrowed bikes, broken bones, they race. No wonder we get our asses kicked on our own soil, so many riders in this country are the star of their own movie, all flash and no substance. Hayden is a perfect example, I am not a fan nor hater, and he is amazing to watch ride, talent in spades. But him passing up the opportunity to chase Herlings up and down those hills in Ernee displays the shallowness of his career decisions and perhaps cowardice. To be truly great in any competition, sport, business, whatever, you need to confront all competitors even on their terms. American riders do not, perhaps their parents, wives, man friends, favorite dog have a phobia of flying so they can't come.
Even a B team should be beating Latvia.
It's impossible to develop domestic talent when the paid rides for our national series are going to people from other countries.
Combined with our amateur races not being up to par (too short).
There's no pathway for good riders to develop.
Most of the time you need to either be an immediate sensation or the 10+ year GP veteran will get the support.
Mitch fought for his guys to get funding to go to the race. So whining he ain't.
As brought up on Pulp - which I never thought of - this is a MXGP race with an extended invitation once/year. How bought loosening up the rules and not being so Euro-centric? MXGP teams have wider bike rules than the production rules we have in the US, but you don't constrain the Euro riders to production equipment for that race.
Oh and I think the fight in our dogs are just fine. One old dog and a couple of pups this year. Our pit bull was getting his nails done and couldn't make it.
Didn't the US win their first MXdN in 1981, when they sent their 'B' team?
Maybe the US talent isn't as deep now.
This country has taught its people to hate America, America is racist, sexist, evil etc
We’ve talk black to hate white, woman to hate man, old to hate young and more and vice versa.
And then surprised when young men don’t have endless national pride.
We’ve taught them their culture sucks and foreign cultures are pure and their own is a virus etc etc.
The factories funded the riders during the middle to late 80s. Now they don’t.
Pretty good back and forth between Reed and RV on this:
Most of the American riders do have a lot of American pride, Webb, Levi, Beaumer who stepped up Eli always stepped up when he was needed. 1 guy refusing to go even tho they called his bluff and said theyd pay him, plus he could have made 100x back in merch and youtube or whatever else. Our top rider is a fraud right now as far as pretending to be the most patriotic person ever, then never even pretending to try to back that up and that affects how good of a team we could send. Tomac had a freak injury this year that led to his early retirement before sx but if eli, deegz, and kitchen went we 100% could have won. The problem is 1 guy.
^^^which guy?
The spirit has been beat down by social media and politics (which we can't talk about here), and the advantage of works bikes we used to have. Add in the issues there has always been like strange tracks and the gasoline.
We had one rider who switched brands the week before race and one rider who rode the bike the first time the day before!! Two brands who refuse to send bike over. The teams need to show loyalty first, then the riders will be able to follow. And SMX playoffs threw a giant wrench into the timing.
Tomac has not always stepped up when needed. Who do you think Mitch was talking about this week in a Matthes show when he said that Kawasaki not supporting MXdN was to save their riders face just like Yamaha is doing for Deegan now.
Eli did not want to go for a couple of years and then at RedBud in 2018? He went again because it was on home soil…
Pit Row
I see a few things that have lead over time to Americas slide.
Bikes- euros have the ability to change the frame , subframe etc and truly make the bike their own. Americans are on production frames and the fuel isn’t the same they are used to
Suspension- Americans really love stiff suspension from supercross. Although that is changing because supercross isn’t nearly as technical as it used to be. Again another issue the Americans are facing. Less technicality, more wide open tracks.
Lastly the euros have simply stepped the game up. From the amateur racing on real tracks and understanding what it requires to have a certain pace the entire moto, establish race craft so on so forth.
America is a show, but that show has gotten stale because of powers in charge. The once technical advantage we used to have from Supercross is now voided.
American spirit .
The beginning of the dominant US era at MXDN / TDN was primarily driven by a guy from Belgium..
He & a few guys at MXA were the only ones who really wanted to make it happen and did whatever it took - doing the fundraising, convincing Honda to let him take four of thier riders, organising campers, race transport etc etc- to get a team over there and begin a 13 year win streak…..
If it hadn’t been for a European they’d never have bothered sending a team..
And DeCoster's story is the most American thing I can think of...he's an American hero for me and my crew. His son was a U.S. Marine, and the family embodies the true idea of the American melting pot.....DeCoster is "The Man", and it did my heart good to see the Coenen bros show so much respect and understanding of history when they came over this summer.
Rock on....
USA riders are focused on Supercross, not MX because that’s where the money is. They don’t care about MX.
We're all about the circus acrobatics of SX now. MX is no longer a "priority".
That lyin son of a b-tch Deegan lol
Sorry, but Americans are fat, lazy, stupid, and entitled. They’re soft. Most (not all) ride completely uninspired. Where are the Bobby Knight type coaches? What’s with the whining and shortening motos in the heat or inclement weather? What’s up with taking half a year + to let an ACL heal? Sacha breaks his collarbone and keeps going? Shoot, the average American rider would be life flighted and then take a year to recover. Get your ass up out of bed, get your running shoes on, and GO. Get your ass off social media. Train. Train. Train. No, not family, not wife and kids, train, train, become inhuman. 1965 Parris Island type stuff. If you aren’t absolutely miserable you’re not doing it right. Terminator type robotic commitment to training and nutrition. Everything else is severed.
Lazy, stupid Americans. Show up, work a little, try a bit, deity damn, what a fornicating imbroglio.
Deegz doesn't have to go if he doesn't want to. Thats fine. But knock it off with the Captain America act. "Gotta rep America up here!" I dont give a shit if it's an all foreigner podium at a National. Or foreigner as a series champ. I want to see amazing riders in the Nationals and SX, who cares where they're from? It only matters at the MXdN and you bitch out every time so stop being fake
Love my country but clear for last twenty years (half my life) that maybe we’ve been fed a lot of BS while we’ve been quietly robbed blind. Youth sees it for what it is. Blind patriotism is silly. No patriotism is dangerous. In MX context, it’s expensive and a grind.
Marchbanks didn't go because Kawi said they couldn't prep a 450 for MxGP rules and get it there in time. Where did you hear anything about a passport?
We have plenty of it.
Just not from one family of influencers who hate the MX establishment. Maybe simply dodging the Euros, maybe dodging potential FIM/WADA drug testing. They obviously don’t give two shits about America. They only wave a flag trying to stir shit for the Lawrence’s and sell a few t-shirts.
Now compare that to true American patriot like Cooper Webb, JuJu, Kitchen, RJ, etc, etc, etc.
We just had a bad year with Eli retiring, Sexton in whatever he is in, Barcia switching teams, RJ switching teams, Justin Cooper hurt, whatever is wrong with Marchbanks, etc, etc.
The American spirit is in supercross.
In our own series, Sexton, Barcia, Anderson, and Webb are the only active riders with a 450 outdoor win, with 21 total wins and 1 title.
Prado, Hunter, Roczen, and Jett have 57 total wins with 5 titles. That doesn't count Herlings going from last to first to win.
US riders excelled outdoors when supercross raised the technique in the 80's, but now the emphasis on supercross most of the year clearly hurts.
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