VOLUME 57 ISSUE 24 JUNE 16, 2020 P43
BY THE CN STAFF
PHOTOGRAPHY BY FELD ENTERTAINMENT/
ALIGN MEDIA
I
t's usually not surprising when
Ken Roczen wins a race, but you
have to admit, his Sunday victory
was a bit of a shocker.
Based on his performances the
last three races—badly fading out of
condition halfway through the finals
due to an ongoing health issue—
the Honda HRC team rider wasn't
expected to win, or perhaps even to
land on the podium on Sunday. Es-
pecially not after following Wednes-
day's race (where he faded to fifth)
with the announcement that he's
now also dealing with shingles, a
virus that is widely believed to be re-
lated to weakened immune systems,
and causes painful rashes/blisters.
So, when Roczen was leading
Wednesday's winner Cooper Webb
(Red Bull KTM) halfway through
what would end up being a 29-lap
race on Sunday, many, including
Webb, were expecting Roczen to
run out of steam and fade as he
had done the last three races. But
instead of slowing, Roczen seemed
to only get faster, and to everyone's
amazement, held on to take the
Cooper Webb finds
Wednesday magic
again, and Ken Roczen
finds the will to win
Sunday
REVIVAL!