INTERVIEW I 2021 CYCLE NEWS RIDER OF THE YEAR COOPER WEBB
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"It was a very, very tough two
years," said Webb. "I struggled a
little bit with the transition to the
450s and bike setup and men-
tally, too. In the Lites class those
last two years basically every time
I was on the gate, I knew I could
win and would more than likely
win. I went from that to transition-
ing into trying to accept I'm a fifth-
place guy tonight or a 10th-place
guy tonight, in the 450 class. So,
it took a lot."
Injuries played a big part too.
"A lot of it was injuries, unfortu-
nately, just getting injured a lot,"
said Webb. "It seemed like my
off-seasons I would always get
injured, and throughout the sea-
son. But I never gave up. I never
lost that confidence and that
belief in myself that I was a cham-
pion, and I could get there in
the 450s. I just felt like I needed
exactly what happened. A good
team behind me, a great bike, a
great program. It happened at the
perfect time in my career. I think
for me that's what, even to this
day, I never want to struggle like
that again. So, I think for me, it's
something that taught me a lot of
perseverance and makes me ap-
preciate the good days a lot."
As difficult as 2017 and 2018
were, the 2019 season was a
breeze.
"I had zero expectations of win-
ning that season, so I think every
time I did win, it was just such a
thrill and a shock," said Webb. "It
just seemed like that year every-
thing was going my way. I think
besides being sick one round, I
didn't really have any adversity. It
seemed like I could almost do no
wrong. When it got down to the
stretch, it was like, 'I can win this
