Troy Dog
Honesty is always the best policy and it seems lately that the sport’s stars are understanding that.
- Hunter Lawrence told VitalMX that he’s going to get some blood work done during the break because he hasn’t felt like himself since RedBud.
- Chance Hymas feels that the incident in the first turn at Millville was not his fault.
- AP said that the chug tasted ‘good’ (even though I don’t believe him, the temperatures were 100 degrees, no way that beverage was cold)
Now Chase Sexton has opened up about some of his struggles while trying to adapt to his Red Bull KTM, especially in Monster Energy Supercross.
“There were some dark times in Supercross for me,” Sexton said in the post race press conference at Washougal. “I was struggling really bad, I was having weird crashes in the whoops during the week, and getting myself hurt.”
Sure, the truth is coming out now with only three rounds to go in the Pro Motocross Championship (Sexton also has a commanding lead in the championship), but hey progress is progress, and Sexton has always been transparent in interviews.
“Immediately when I got on outdoors I feel like I had a better feeling in the bike, like maybe not suits me better, but it feels more comfortable,” Sexton said. “I knew I was going to be better this year than I was last year, I just didn’t really know how much better.”
Since he found his outdoor setting, Sexton said that he really hasn’t had to make a huge change on his bike all summer, he has just made a few small changes along the way.
“My riding has been a lot more calm, more stable and more centered on the bike and that’s helped me a lot to minimize those mistakes.
Sexton went on to say that the only thing he really needs to work on are his starts as he found himself ‘buried’ in the pack at Washougal. So, now he will use the break to work on those and get some much needed rest.
We saw some really epic battles between Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton in 2022 that are now classic races. The question remains, is Sexton better now as a rider than he was then?
“I would say that I’m better now than I was,” Sexton said. “For me I think back then, I mean it was only two years ago, I was really gelling with my bike in 22′ and I think that’s the biggest key for me. Especially this year, I feel really centered on the bike and I’m able to play around on the track more than I have…probably ever…”
It’s refreshing to hear athletes tell their side of the story and especially talk about the bike they are riding without having to feel the repercussions from the team. It’s okay to tell the media that you aren’t/weren’t comfortable on a bike as well. These are machines with hundreds of moving parts, you aren’t going to feel your best all the time, that’s why you test parts, and with those parts you may not feel comfortable on the setting that you’re given.
That’s why these riders continue to work every single day and strive to get better, just like Chase Sexton.
“I would definitely say that I’m better than I was in 22′, I mean that’s the evolution, I would hope that I’m better two years later than I was back then. I just try to get better every year.”
Main Image: Octopi Media
