Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

RACER X·' By Davey Coombs D oug Henry has unknowingly foun d himself in the eye of a needle and opened a Pa ndora's Box for the AMA . H enry won the 1994 125cc National Motocross Champ ionship with th e h elp of .a n intra venous ly fed so lution of strength-building fluids. The practice began soon after Henry, the perfectly capable meinber of Team Hon da and the defending National Cha mpion, began hav ing trouble ev e n fi nishing two mo tos, du e to extreme fatigue. He cou ld not even finish the second m oto o f the firs t National of the year in Florida. It was soo n d iscov ered th at Hen ry w as s u ffe r in g from a sto mach ail me n t that prevented his bod y from pr ocessing th e nutrients in th e food s tha t he ateoAfter trying numerous doctors and treatments w i th litt le success, Henry started taking a befo rerace and /or between-mo to ·Lv. drip, and found immediate success. "r ye been losing my fluids and getting deh ydrated afte r the races, so a do ctor gave me an i.v, befo re the race," said Henry after winning the first race in which he used the proced ure . "1 think it helped, bec ause I feel grea t! I ha d no problems at all." Henry h ad no p roblems, but th e sport of American motocross now does. Such extraordinary medical procedures are a no-n o in th e image-conscious minds of sporting America. However, in the high-finance, win-at-all-costs world of America n su percross and motocross, winning pretty much means everything. Whic h is worth more to a facto ry: The mixed p ress tha t comes with fans seeing a rider wit h a needle in his arm or an AMA National Championship? The si tuation was discussed at an AMA ad viso ry bo a r d mee ting in November, where team managers , race promoters, ind ust ry personnel and the AMA d id some troub lesh ooting of new and old ideas. One team man ager men tioned tha t if Henry wer e all ow ed to continue wi th the trea tment, he wo uld be forced to hire a trainer to ad minister similar fluids to the riders on his team. It was men tioned that by the end of the season, rid ers were starting to put pressu re on their own managers to provide suc h treatment. In fact, at the end of his vain qu est to catch Henry in the 12Sec National Championship Series, Team Split Fire/ Hot Wh eels/Pro Circu it / Ka w asa ki' s Ry an H ug h es as ke d his bosses to get him similar help. And it's no t li mited to the 12 Scc class. Sa id Kawasaki team manager Roy Tu rner, "Mike Kied rowski will ride 110% until the race is over or un til he drops dead . If there's an y adv an tages to this treatment, he is going to wa nt it." " It was a malabsorp tion p robl em," exp lained Henry after the seaso n. "My d igestive sys tem was not worki ng properly, no t abs orbin g nutr ient s from the food that I was eating, not even from the water I was drinking." The in tr av enous method suggested by Dr. Malone allowed Henry to bypass his intestinal ailm ent and give the rest of his bod y the nourishment that it need ed. But critics also had questions as to what ex ac tly w as in th ose drip bags. "It' s ca lled a 'lac tated Ringer's so lution: which is really just a sugar and salt solution: ' answers Henry. "It does the same thing for you that food does, and that's about it." No one is fault ing Henry for using all necessary means to accomplish his goal of defending his title. However, if Henry and Kied ro w s k i and a score of other top pros are u sin g i.v , d r ip s betw een mo tos, how long will it be before s o me ri ch rrrini cycle dad starts pumping his kid wi th - fl uid s e very ti me his forearm s p u mp up? "If didn't bo ther m e t ha t so me oth er guys wa nted it:' responds Henry. "1 d on ' t blame them; I just wish they could und er s tand that 1 do need it, and its not an advantage. It' s just a heal th concern fo r me and my wife and my mechanic and my team . 1 would trade pla ces with anybody - let them have my condition and I wo uldn't hav e to take Lv:s anymore. I'd let them take it. "It was a scary thing until' we did try the i.v., then it was a h uge relief," adds Henry. "After the race at Troy, 1 had a big change in my w ho le attitude. You see, the condi tion on ly happens under real stressful co nditio ns . It wouldn't happen while we we re testing. We tried a lot of things before we decided to bYPilSS the digestive system (with the i.v.), My fatigue had nothing to do with my training, with my riding or anything. I'd get ex ha usted. and thi n k, 'Wha t the hell am I doing wrong? ' Then when I first took it, it was, like, 'Thank God: It was such a relief to know that there was something wrong physically and not just mentally. It was a load off my mind:' . The reversal of fo rtune that saw Henry return to peak form had others wa nting to try the i.v . procedure. "1 am getting' some flak from peo ple who want me to give them the same i.v, treatment that Doug's getting because they're getting tired," said Dr. Tom MaIone, the man who 'kept Henry plugged in through the end of the series. "Henry's situation is a serious health concern, not a shortcut to physical fitness." Indeed, the extremely hard-working Henry has been transported to the ho spital after winning races due to his problems w ith exha us tion and d eh yd ra ti on. No one questions Henry's need for a sol utio n; they question his use of the i.v, solution. Here lies the AMA's pr ed icamen t. Is the pract ic e of ad m inis te r in g flui ds between motos just p reventive med icine or is it treatment for an existing condition? If a rid er can ge t a p resc ription fro m a d octor stating tha t he requ ires th is tr ea tment, th er e' s little the AMA can d o. The choice of medical treatment and pat ien t-d octor con fid entiality are basic rights ill America. Sporting bodies can overrule su ch treatments bu t Henry has alread y set himself a p recedent. In other wo rds, if they do ban the practi ce a nd Hen ry suffe rs an exha ustioninduced crash or injury, the AMA and the track p romoter would probably.be liable for the incid ent. "We have ma de contact wi th the NCAA (Na ti onal Collegiate Athletic Association) to see how they handle this practice in sporting events," said AMA Pro Motocross Manager Duke Finch. "Our legal department is also looking into the matter. Medical treatment is a touchy thing for every one invol ved :' When asked if he thought he had plans to use the i.v . treatments again during the '95 season, Henry answers in the negative. " But if th ings h aven't changed and I need to use the i.v., no one will know, because it 's not something that I want to hav e blown out of proportion aga in . I don' t know how peo ple found out last year . It's a personal medical situation. If I do or don't take it, no one will know: ' Med ical trea tment is a qu estion with no clear answer and, w ith the start of the 1995 seaso n just around the comer, the AMA has no clear-cut policy on how to handle the situ ation. So if the unfo rtunate Henry has to start out 1995 with a need le in his arm, you can bet it wo n't be long before he has lots of company.cs I ' L O GBACK... ' 1 O KiN Windham won the 1i7i~i:'":Ji:""::r..,-,..__ 85cc (12-13) class... •--... ""'-'-'Follow ing an interview wi th National H are Scrambles Cham- I'I~~~ pio n Scott Plessinger in a p revious issue, Pi e s si n g e r ""....."'" wrote a letter It> eN, " ...1 m ade "1'''''1'':;'' ~ so me re ma rks t abo ut Kawasak~l-'==~!!!!!!~~;; ; which I di d n' t inten d to . " Sho r tl y the reafter, Plessinger signed with KTM and has rid d e n fo r them ever si nce, earning two titles along the way...] eff Matiasevi ch won the GF I Ca li fo rn ia Winter Series round at Perris Raceway... We teste d the 1990 KTM 250 E/XC Enduro...We also inter v iewed Kenny Roberts, d iscu ssing the futu re of GP road racing...Ezra Lusk, on a Hond a CRBO, won a motocross race in Bermuda. a "r:;-..":, , 15YEAR G .., SA O January 23,1980 Photo o f Yam aha ' s Mike Bell graced the cover 15 years ago . The tall man o f m otoc r o ss was featured in an interview by editor Dale Brown... A full-pag e a d a p peare d that featured Dann y "Magoon Chandler standing behind the new 250cc Maico M-l. It was on a bike A 5YEARS AGO.•. January 17, 1990 m ultitud e of photos were on the cover five years ago~ all of which were taken at the opening round of the Florida Winter AMA MX Series in Gainesville, Florida. Headlining the event was rising star Damon Bradshaw who topped the 250cc Pro class. Kevin A I ~ 55

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