Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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World Champion: The Roger DeCoster Story Part VI: Ten years of work and crashes - r o v e that roses have their p thorns By John Huetter oger dedicated 10 years of his life to climbing through the echelons of motocross , to finally attaining the stature of a superstar in his own right, on his own terms. The consideration and respect he has earned, co - R incident with the. met arnorphsis from an ambitious youngster to undeniable but often under-estimated skills to the multi-dimensional champion, did not come quickly. It was 10 years of learning to keep a fiery temperament in some control; of learning to master his attacks of nerves and becoming a ,calm, thinking competitor; of gaining confidence in his personal abilities along with the courage , desire. and will to win . Without all these, his skills as a rider would amount to nothing on the international level. It was also 10 years of building his courage while expending the energy to improve his techniques and racing tactics; of acquiring the necessary experience and a sense of responsibility; of coming to understand the hard road that had to be traveled in his personal development. And during those 10 years, he was constantly disproving the doubts which lingered and clung to him . Doubts about his potential, his capacities as rider, and doubts about the efficiency of his uniquely personal riding style : spectacular and acrobatic in the extreme. It took 10 years to remodel the kid from Brussels without a dime to his name into a stable, self-sufficient person . It was a long time to work establishing himself as a rising, then reigning, start in the motorsports world. It was a time beset with both serious setbacks and incapacitating injuries and it took nearly all of those 10 years for Roger DeCoster to earn the title of ambassador exemplary of off-road racing in particular, and of Sport in general. But for Roger, they were also 10 years of incessant struggle, not only against adversaries on and off the track but with himself as well. As a constant background to 10 years of personal and professional development. there was always the pain of the injuries in the roughest a 10 (Continued from last week) mot orsport on ea rt h . Most of th em left thei r permanent inscription on his bod y. T he list of th e . more serious is long eno ugh .. . Novemb er 3, 1963 . T ilf , Belgium . J Double fracture of ' th e left foot in an expert Observed Trial. He returned to competition a month later with his lower leg still in a plaster cast. March 8, 1964. Clamart , Franc e. Hitting a tree at" full tilt in an international motocross produced massive internal hemorrhaging of his left thigh . Recuperation was slow and painful mainly be cause Roger wouldn't sto p racing while it healed . April 4, 1965. Dilb eek, Belgium. While leading a 500 senior motocross , he crashed through a corner berm. gashing his arm . March 20, 1966. Dilb eek . A thrown chain forced him out of the first moto . In attempting to redeem h is first heat nonperformance, he rode like a man possessed in the second heat. A twisted knee and torn ligaments put an end to that ride . October 16, 1966. Eksaarde, Belgium. This wa s the crash . incurred while avoiding a young spectator crossing the course, that seriously damaged Roger 's kidney. put him in the hosoital for weeks . and nearly marked tf end of his . motocross career. February 18, 196 Vim perk , Czechoslovakia . At the aditional preseason warm·up race )r factory CZ riders, Roger's bike slie! out and landed on top of him in an iCl slick corner. He was out for a month and a half with a broken collarbone and a concussion. ]u1}e 2, 1968. Stekene, Belgium. The first time in over a year that Roger's parents had seen him race. they watched him smash to'the ground in a crash right after the start. His neck was holed by a footpeg . his arms were burned , and the d on ors lat er diagn osed an o th er co nc ussion . He was in bed for three weeks . J un e 23, 1968. Hoeselt , Belgium . In h is return to co mpetitio n . Roger cras hed off a mud -covered b ridge in t he da mp wood s. He bounced off th e gua rd ra il a nd was out with a to rn thigh muscle . He su ffer ed from it th e rest of th e season. N ovem ber J . 196 8 . Wichit a , Kans as, U.S.A . In th e second 500 cc mo! o . Roger went ove r th e handl eb a rs land ing from a j um p . Steve McQueen arranged for his personal doctor to trea t his sepa ra ted shou lde r. April 27, 1969. Wuustwezel , Belgium . Roger is rammed full on from behind whi le braking to avoid a rid er pile-up at th e sta rt . He lands knee -first on an exhaust pipe which penetrates th e knee joint. Eight stitches are required to close the wound. The ligaments are torn and there is internal bleeding behind th e kn eecap . Roger is out of action for three weeks. May 20 , 1971 . Eke, Belgium . Betw een the Swedish 500 Grand Prix and the Finnish GP , Roger flew home to race this traditional Belgian holida y motocross . As he was passing Jef Teuwissen to take the lead on the second lap . a course-marking rope got wrapped in his bike's rear wheel . locking it up and sending him to th e ground. Two bon es in his hand wer e broken . Sept ember 12, 1971 . Van nes, France. During th e seco nd heat of th e Motocross des N at ion s. Roger was fo llowing Swede Ake J on sson u p a steep ba nk. A flurry of rocks th row n up by the rear wheel of Jon sson 's Ma ico knoc ked DeCosn-r off t he RN Suzuk i. When he's p icked u p. his bod y is covered with rock cu ts and bruises and he h as another p a in fu l internal hemorrhage in his leg . In the begi nni ng. no do ubt . t he crashes served as a n indica to r to Roger DeCoster , allowi ng him to gauge his abilit ies a nd limits right to the very ed ge - and beyon d . Crash ing wa s a lso a brutally accurate measure of how.far he co u ld pu sh with his particular style of ra cing mot ocross. Because, in th ose beginn ing years. his style was distinctive a n d ' uniqu e a mo ng a ll t he ride rs . Roge r DeCosr er 's p erson al approa ch to riding a mo to cross ma chine int roduced a nd crea ted . as much as any other rider before or since : th e modern style of ra cing motocross . Prior to th e DeC oster era , motocross riding style had been mostly sit -down, with comparatively little body movement on the machine . With 500cc bikes weighing 300 Ibs. and more , there was little incentive to do otherwise. But Roger's style was spectacular. a display of acrobatic flexibi lity and phy sical force in using body weight and position to mov e the bike around at high speeds both on and off the ground . It was an unprecedented carry· over into motocross of the remarkable sense of balance and weight shift developed during his seasons as an observed trials rider. This style made Roger' DeCoster a very special case in the small world of motocross . His way of attacking th e corn ers as if they personally offended him , and his soaring leaps over the jumps wit h the front wheel crossed -up to set up for th e landing; th e bike already cranked over for the next. turn . distinguished DeCoster from every other " p ilote" in motocross during those years . His impact on the style of th e sport is nearly incalculable . A whole g enerat ion of young motocrossers on both sides of the Atlantic now want . and try , to look like DeCoster. In the line-up of all-time greats in int ern a tional motocross. those who Roger . in his turn , admires the most are Sten Lundin (riding Husqvarna and Monark) for the classic purity of his Scandinavian style ; the Belgian Rene Baeten (on FN) for the combativeness and craftiness which he displayed; Englishman Jeff Smith (BSA) for his attention to detail and complete inability to be shaken; Torsten Hallman, (Husqvarna) another famous Swede. for his seriousness and the way he could personally control a race; Paul Friedrichs, East German and former CZ teammate, for his complete physical commitment; and sometimes rival , whether on or off the same factory team , Joel Robert (CZ and .Suzuki) for a virtuousity and natural talent on a motocross machine that netted him six 250 World Championships.