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/128135
is as accomplished as is Carmichael at attaining one's goal. Such is the reputation of Carmichael's ability to win that we won't bother listing his career accomplishments, or even his techniques. That territory has been well-trod. Instead, we're focusing on Ricky Carmichael's most recent year of racing - a year that saw Carmichael repeat his Chevy Trucks 250cc National Motocross and THQ U.S. Open Champi- That was our first topic for discussion when we spoke with Carmichael about the season that earned him Cycle News' Rider of the Year award. Funny thing about that conversation: Carmichael struck us as neither angry nor EA Sports Supercross Championship. elfish. Most people consider Carmichael's taking of the 2001 EA Sports Supercross title by the age of 21 to be an incredible feat, but when you talk to the champ himself, it becomes clear that he views the accomplishment as long overdue. In order to pull it off, he had to topple the sport's most dominant rider, but Carmichael wasn't intimidated. He knew what he had to do, and after a tenacious off-season preparation period, and a few rounds to get his balance, the then-Chevy Trucks Kawasaki rider pulled off the impossible in such a straightforward way that he made it look easy. I onships. But of course what really moved Carmichael up to a new level was his taking of the Was the supercross crown your most difficult accomplishment to this point? Yeah, definitely. Well, when I was winning, it was easy. When I was on that winning streak, things were just coming along, but to get to that point was hard. I think it was mentally tougher than it was physically. I was asking the question: "Why isn't it happening?" and I was putting a little more effort into it, and hopefully it came out on the right end of the stick. After that win, I felt like I didn't have to take a lot of chances. It was_a turning point for me. You've done a lot in your career, but taking the supercross crown this year had to be pretty special. I've always been kind of a quick achiever, winning my first Pro title my first year, and winning all the other championships right off the bat. This one kind of had me in a bind and had me worried. It was almost like it was never going to happen. I kind of just put my heart into it; I really don't think I was putting the effort into it like I should have. I think to win a supercross title takes a whole lot more effort than any other title out there. It took me a couple of years learning and hitting the ground a bunch of times, in 1999 and in 2000, and I wouldn't trade those two years for anything. I learned so much, and I think I've had good success. I think that's the reason why I won the title in supercross. The series got off to a pretty close start between you and Jeremy, and then you really turned it on and pulled away. Is there one race you look back on as the turning point? There was never a race where I thought that I had it or that it was my title until it was close to Dallas time, when I did wrap it up, because I know I've seen many times what can happen when it comes down to the wire, so all it would have taken was one bad race for me, and Jeremy would have been in the front. Probably after Daytona, I realized, "Alright, I have a one-race lead, and I need to keep on two wheels. Providing nothing goes wrong with my bike, I'm just going to try and stay low-key and not take any chances." I felt like I was in the driver's seat, and I didn't have to take any chances after that point. We probably would have pointed to Anaheim III as a turning point, since you tracked down Jeremy after suffering a poor start, and then passed him. It was more fun than anything; I wouldn't say it was a turning-point race. Even though every weekend 1 was racing, I won, [I was thinking,] "One of these races, things aren't going to go my way; things will go back to normal, the way they've always been, so I'm just going to ride while it's good." Things kept happening for me. For a lot of the outsiders looking in, that was the turning point for me, but it was just a race that I rode really good at. It was a spectacular race, and I came from behind, and I ended up winning the race. That's my favorite kind of race, and I know it makes it hard on myself, but like when I'm in the outdoors, that's the funnest time to race, [when you're coming] from behind. At a supercross race, it's really hard to do, so that was more of a fun race. It seems like, in recent interviews, the quotes between you and Jeremy have been a little more pointed. What kind of relationship do you two have? Continued on page 12 cue. e n e _ S • JANUARY 2,2002 9