Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1063250
VOL. 55 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 18, 2018 P99 outdoor nationals and the Salt Lake Supercross. But he's found ways to cope with it in recent years. "The altitude hasn't really affected me [lately], because, over the past few years, we've been able to figure it out. Me and [trainer] Aldon [Baker] have worked together to figure out a way for me to perform better [in altitude]. I just have a hard time. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's real. It's tough. A lot of people don't understand how it feels, but it's very hard to ex- plain. It's hard to perform at the top level for me, but the last two times I've been up there, what me and Aldon have been doing, working on, has worked. I've been able to perform to my best ability. So I think we're just going to keep doing that and helpfully it works out." One of the ways he beats altitude sickness is to arrive at the track as late as possible and leave as quickly as possible. "I've flown in late," Anderson said. "I even have chartered a flight to fly in the morning. That's just what we got to do. Some- times you spend a little bit more money than you would want to get to those races as late as pos- sible, but it's worth it in the end to get top performance." THE GLEN HELEN CRASH After winning the Supercross Championship, Anderson didn't get a chance to try for the out- door title when a freak midweek crash after round two ended his year prematurely. He and another rider collided while off the track. "Basically, [the other rider] was just pulling off the track," Ander- son said. "Honestly, we were not going that fast. He didn't notice that I was on the left of him. He just kind of connected. My foot literally just got crushed in between the bikes going super slow. It was kind of a crazy situ- ation. Man, it really ruined my summer, that's for sure." But, focusing on the positive, at least he got some time off. "The time off was cool, but for about three days and then I was over it," Anderson says. "At the beginning I was like, 'Cool, I get a couple days off!' A couple days would have been cool for me, but we can't really do that. I was really bummed because I really have never been able to show my true potential outdoors. I really felt like I could have won a couple races this outdoor sea- son and I could have been pretty successful, and I wanted to get picked to go to des Nations. That was a big goal of mine. I really like that race. It's a fun one. So I was bummed, but basically I spent a month and a half in a wheelchair, and then as soon as I got out of that wheelchair I rode for six days on the bike and went straight to Budds Creek. I was out of shape but was able to do one moto halfway decent, and then tried to go the next week- end and it was super muddy. That was kind of the end of that." Anderson is well down the road to recovery and has already won a few races overseas during the off-season. Come Anaheim I you can bet Anderson won't be flying under the radar. CN Anderson knows how to keep racing fun, which he says is a major part of winning championships.