Upgrade to enjoy this feature!
Vital MX fantasy is free to play, but paid users have great benefits. Paid member benefits:
- View and download rider stats
- Pick trends
- Create a private league
- And more!
Only $10 for all 2024 SX, MX, and SMX series (regularly $30).
I feel like that would give these guys a much better work/life balance, more time to recover from injuries, and the ability to stay competitive and energized year round.
This 17 rounds of supercross, 12 rounds of outdoors, a month break before MXdN and MEC and then straight into sx testing for the next year is about the worst thing for our riders health, careers, and competitiveness.
The Shop
I dont think SX is a direct reason. imo a bigger reason is guys like RV2 and RD retiring "early", which impacts directly and indirectly. You lose your best guys, and you lose the effect they have on other riders (forcing them to ride harder).
You see it in mxgp, the arrival of febvre, gajser and lately herlings forced everyone to pick up the pace or get dropped.
I dont think racing Italy last weekend and then flying half way round the world right at the end of the season helped the euros either !
Oh many Holeshot ? and in this conditions, KTM looked like a 250 2 strokes against 125 2 strokes.
A good rider can become excellent on a KTM in MXGP while a good rider can become excellent in SX on any brand. That's the difference.
Great points about speed and intensity. Similar scenarios with Juha Salminan and David Knight (who both crushed our GNCC regulars with sheer speed).
The Euros was in this place once upon a time. Did they throw in the towel? No they started to look at what US based riders does different and started to adapt, internet made that easy.
Maybe it's time for the US based riders and the people in that industry to start looking at what the Euros does better. Whether it's how they train, what they train on, how the amateur scene is built (look at the EMX system in Europe) etc.
Pit Row
Bunch of dipshits talking pride of country would prolly take a knee at the local high school football game.
1. Less concentration on SX
2. Create more flowing tracks similar to MXGP
3. Feeder 125cc program to allow younger riders to ride toe national tracks. I know there was a 125cc fun race this year at selected nationals. Not the same.
4. Bring back Trans USA, Trans AM or Winter motocross
If USA continues to concentrate on SX, the days of winning are mostly gone.
Maybe you go to Lommel or Grevenbroich and train for the MXdN in Assen?!
I suspect Roger would want to be there early, much like with Lommel. How much do they want it?
USA were clearly the best in the 80s, and there was SX. Then, the Europeans, and in particular the Belgian, succeeded in the 1990s in forming teams with 3 competitive riders. Then in the 2000s, the USA dominated the field again (And there was SX as well). For the past 7 or 8 years, European countries, and in particular the French, have been able to find 3 strong riders to form teams. That will not be always the case. That's the problem for European small countries (BEL, NEL, CH, etc) : find 3 top riders able to score top 15.
This is not the case for a country with +300M inhabitants such as the USA.
Imagine another format like the Ryder Cup (15 best USA riders vs 15 best EU riders). That would be different.
Otherwise Assen won't be fun for Team USA.
Post a reply to: Team USA: Where do we go from Here