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Avon, IN
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doofy
4/17/2017 4:54pm
4/17/2017 4:54pm
This is a question I always ponder on. Chad Reed believes champions are born, that a if your the type of guy to barely qualify a factory bike wont improve that.
He made a tweet saying "you give the 20th place guy my bike nothing changes. #talentneeded"
Myself, I think the cream of the crop tippy top riders brains' process information faster. I feel thats something your just born with. I know training is obviously important but do you guys feel that every person has a "talent threshold" ya know? AKA work yourself into the ground but you still plateau?
I race woods, there was a kid named Aaron that started riding with us. Never had a bike before and bought one cause all his buddies has them. After riding his turd of a 04 RMZ250 (bone stock) a handful of times he was able to keep up with us B riders, and at the end of that same season I had nothing for him. Now hes on a tear in our local A class, and here in Indiana our local series IMO are the fastest next to the GNCC. He almost always wins his class and hovers around top 10 overall with usually a dozen pro riders, and several GNCC XC1 and XC2 guys. I have been riding for a decade and in one year he stomps a mud hole in my ass.
Whatcha think? Myself, Ive been on 2 wheels for like I said multiple years and I feel in these last few I have made no progress in my speed or skill.
He made a tweet saying "you give the 20th place guy my bike nothing changes. #talentneeded"
Myself, I think the cream of the crop tippy top riders brains' process information faster. I feel thats something your just born with. I know training is obviously important but do you guys feel that every person has a "talent threshold" ya know? AKA work yourself into the ground but you still plateau?
I race woods, there was a kid named Aaron that started riding with us. Never had a bike before and bought one cause all his buddies has them. After riding his turd of a 04 RMZ250 (bone stock) a handful of times he was able to keep up with us B riders, and at the end of that same season I had nothing for him. Now hes on a tear in our local A class, and here in Indiana our local series IMO are the fastest next to the GNCC. He almost always wins his class and hovers around top 10 overall with usually a dozen pro riders, and several GNCC XC1 and XC2 guys. I have been riding for a decade and in one year he stomps a mud hole in my ass.
Whatcha think? Myself, Ive been on 2 wheels for like I said multiple years and I feel in these last few I have made no progress in my speed or skill.
The Shop
Lol, these dudes are some of the fittest animals on the planet. They work their balls off for 50 weeks a year. Find another professional sport that has a 2 week offseason AND requires the level a similar level of discipline in their training AND puts them at similar levels of risk while practicing.
I personally think that moto is in the running for gnarliest grind.
RC, RV and Hannah etc is/was definitely talented. If nothing else they had the talent to hold on, which others certainly don't.
The question was "talent or work?", and it was the only one in which he broke the rules and said "both".
From the mouth of the horse.
If you took any regular joey (such as myself), had them train with Aldon Baker and have a spot on any of the Factory teams, even 5 years down the line at a peak age, they would not even qualify for a supercross or outdoor.
You cannot buy raw speed in this sport.
Some people simply do not have it, while others do.
But that isn't to say that naturally UN-gifted people still cant get semi decent results and have a hell of a good time riding and racing bikes.
You just gota work with what you have, make the best of it, set realistic goals and have fun.
Pit Row
"Of course the myth of natural ability is a handy cop-out for people not doing so well in their given sport. If I’m not naturally gifted, then my poor performance is not “my” fault. It’s genetics conspiring against me. Researchers have absolutely decimated that myth. There’s no such thing as naturals. There are simply those who train their bodies and minds longer, more precisely, more deliberately, and harder than everyone else."
I think if you give a privateer Reed's bike, the privateer will be a little better. If you give Reed the privateer's bike, Reed will be a lot worse.
I know for me, the reason I am not "pro speed" is not because I cannot ride that way; it is because I cannot ride that way more than a lap and a half before I get tired, the mistakes start eating me up and the conditioning goes away. If I trained like an absolute animal in my youth, maybe I'd have had more influence in the local ranks.
I bet it's the same with the top pros. Chad can say what he wants about needing talent, but I bet he can still outperform the 20th-place guy on a treadmill or pushup competition, 8 times out of 10.
Some people are born with a knack for not over-thinking things. They are often "naturally gifted" in sport (Roczen for example).
Others repeat the activity and process over and over until they don't have to think about it anymore. These are the hard workers (RD5).
Two paths to the same destination.
Might not be accurate, just a thought.
My buddy and I used to joke around and say that we were too "smart" to go that fast. I think there is definitely a correlation in some way. Just not sure exactly how or why.
Post a reply to: skill/talent - nature OR nurture