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/128355
'W Grand National Cross Country Champion Rodney Smith good way and having fun the last few laps: and he said, 'Yeah, my shoulder's messed up. I know the championship is out of my hands.' And I said, 'Yeah, it kind of seems like it's going t hat w ay, w hatever.' It was like w e rel axed and let ou r guards dow n and we were friends again, and th e pressure w as off of us. I know it w ent my way, but we w er e both good sports about it . He 's done a gr eat thing and he's the next up and comer. H e's got a lot of years to com e w hen I retire, and I know he' ll do it . I w as lucky enough to hold him off on e more year." You would th ink t hat winning t itl e number five and matching Scott Summers' reco rd would be of high impo rtan ce for Smith , but if it is, he's certainly playing it down. " Being that I had four championships, five w asn't all that importa nt to me," Smith says. " I knew Summers had won five, and Summers is a great rider and an idol to me, but I didn't even care about matching his accom plishments ; t hat wasn't even a goal of mine. I was enjoying th e races this year." For Smith , w inning the fifth titl e wasn't as satisfying as was how he won it . "My first GNCC Championship was the biggest one for m e," Smith says, " but t his one rates right up t here wi th it , if not bigger, because I was 40 and, the ot her unique t hing about th is season was, I w on all the major races it seems like: I w on t he open er, all the pr ess is there, every body, even Ryan Hughes; t hen I w on Loretta Lynn's; and I won the Mary land r ound, wh ich is one of t he biggest GNCC rounds now. When it was important and all the press people were there, I w on, w hich helped me get a lot of pr ess thi s year. It alw ays seemed like before, I w ould w in the championship, but I didn't wi n th e o pener, I didn't w in Loretta 's, and I didn't w in one of t he major on es. People stol e the lim elight away fro m me, but I w ou ld still wi n the championship. " T he on ly oth er one that I w ould've liked to have w on was Indiana [th e final round), w hich I've w on so many t imes befo re. But I pulled off t here . My heart w asn't into th at day - Ja son didn't show up, the championship was min e, and it was just a weird two w eeks [leading up to t he race). I just wasn't into the racing part . Last year, I w ent there and w on th e final ro und, w hich kind of set a point for th is year, and I kind of wish I we nt out w ith a bang th ere . But that's racing. Lot of differen t emoti ons th is year." For most people, tu rn ing 40 is a tra umatic experience. But for Rodney Smith, hitting th e big four-O w asn't a big deal. " I do n't feel any differen t . I don't even see myself being 40. It's kind of funny. I remember wh en I turned 30 and I was excited about it because I could ri de Vet motocross. I don't know too many that turn 30, and tu rn 40, and are excit ed abo ut it . I was kind of excite d about it because I can r ide the Old-Timers' class when I w ant to now. I don't see myself as 40; it doesn't seem right . I'm sure everybody feels the same w ay w hen t hey t urn 40. It' s kind of like , 'God, I can't be 40! I don't feel it , but I guess we are.' '' Obviously, Smith has the r ight ment al att itude going into midd le age, but wh at abo ut his physical being? Someti mes peop le can convince themselves ment ally that they' re still 18, but it's their bones, joints and muscles that keep tell ing them th at t hey're not a teenager anymore. But for Smith, he's defin itely one of the youngest-looking and most physically fit 40-y ear-o lds that you' ll ever meet . He still gets through a th ree- hour race as th ough he filled his drink system wi t h w ater from 42 JA N UA RY 5, 2005 • C YCLE N EW S \ \ . \ ,. I I ttl t rain smarter and not harder. II Believe il or nol , thaI's Ihe lrophy Rodney got for finish ing fourth overa ll at the ISDE in 1992. the fountain of youth , " It's [lasting through a GNCC race) gotten easier," Smith says. " I swe ar I haven't trained half as hard t hese last two years, and it seems like t he old er I get , the easier it gets to r ide t hree ho urs. I used to do aerobics classes, kickboxing, spinning classes, step classes, w here yo u're bouncing your heart rat e off the w all. Now, I don't do that so much. Now , I do more pilates and strengt hening stuff. I still hike and jog, but I train smarter and not harder. T he three -hour races seem like t hey're getti ng easier to me, but I know a lot of it is my riding style. My riding style has really gotten me to whe re I am, I'm a lot smoother r ider ; I don 't exert as much energy w hen I'm r iding. I t hink if I rode like some of th e other riders - I w on't mention names - I'd have to be stronger that w hat I am." Ab out the only negative Smith feels about his age is that injuri es tak e longer to heal. " Little injur ies are nagging," Smith says. " If I sprain a w rist, or an ankle, or hurt my back, it seems like it tak es forever to heal. It just seems like you have stay on top of stuff that w ay, I th ink if I ever did have a major injury, lik e