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Doing training at the Baker facility?...interesting...
Current rides: 2022 CRF450RWE
Occasional ride for VMX: 1985 CR500RF 1987 CR250RH
Adventure/Road bike: CRF1100L
kiwifan wrote:Doing training at the Baker facility?...interesting...
jorgechavez wrote:He said the Jason Baker facility, which I would doubt has any connection to Aldon Baker. He trains with Blake Savage, who is ...more
my bad
Current rides: 2022 CRF450RWE
Occasional ride for VMX: 1985 CR500RF 1987 CR250RH
Adventure/Road bike: CRF1100L
I'm no coach and I never put down lap after lap on a SX track but I'm always amazed these guys work in a single line and never deviate from it. It's so anti-racing which is always dynamic and you have to not follow to pass. I would think switching up your lines on alternating laps in race simulations or even sprints would be something these guys do on the regular but it never is.
"Just tried to hit my marks and not make any mistakes"
A very common quote from most top riders. As we all know, starts are (unfortunately) 90% of a SX race. As such, these guys are literally machines, programmed to "hit their marks" lap after lap.
Let the race "come to them" is also a very common strategy. The theory is that by hitting your marks consistently, you will ultimately become more comfortable and thus faster each lap. Then when they catch a rider in front of them, realistically they should be able to make that pass quickly either in a turn or by simply staying in the "fast line" that perhaps the rider in front of them isn't using.
Only when a line really breaks down or becomes unsafe to use, will you likely see a rider change up his lines. Again, these guys are amazing machines. Imagine the countless hours and laps these guys do for training. Really no different than any other sport. A golfer doesn't change his swing every time he tees up, as an example.
Testing the motorcycle is another key reason for "hitting your marks", and why you see this more clearly in training videos. The best way to test a new part and/or setting is to replicate the same conditions....lines, speed, # of laps, etc. This provides the rider an "apples to apples" comparison and ultimately determine what setting works best for him. Of course this is also where the term "stopwatch nationals" comes from.