INTERVIEW I 2021 AFT SUPER T WINS C HAMPION JARED MEES
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"All of a sudden it's like—done.
"I had my difficulties at the
beginning of the year with my
injuries, which sucked too. It's
one of those things. That's just
the way it went down this year."
The compacted schedule
pushed the podium ceremony to
the end of the program, which
provided an impromptu opportu-
nity for the friends-turned-great-
rivals to have a shared moment.
"The celebration after the race
was pretty watered down. They
were running behind [schedule]
with the weather and that stuff.
They ran the other classes after
us, so we didn't even get to go
on the podium right away. So,
I'm just sitting there there back in
the tent with the team. Nothing I
could do about it.
"Before the podium and right
before Briar went to the hospital,
I went over and said, 'Good job
dude.' He was emotional and
I can understand that. He was
real bummed out. We had a little
'hug out' moment. Everything
was good there.
"We don't talk nowhere near
as much as we used to, that's
for sure. We used to be super,
super tight. I helped him out with
a lot, and we were tight. We're
still friends, I think, deep down
inside. I hope he knows that if
he ever needs anything, I'm only
a phone call away. Right now,
he's a lot younger than me, and
it's just the way we handle some
things is different.
"But for sure, I think the level
of respect is high for both of us.
"And just like I told him and
everybody else, the battle
will continue in 2022, there's
no doubt about it. I'm looking
forward to that already, and I
expect Briar to be the tough-
est guy. Outside of injury, there
should be no reason there's
not another battle coming again
next season."
CN
