VOL. 50 ISSUE 33 AUGUST 20, 2013
P103
Y
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
SHAN MOORE
C
hances are Cody Webb
smiled when he woke up to
a steady rain on the morning
of this year's Kenda Knockout, held
at the Trials Training Center, known
for its beautiful but rugged terrain,
unforgiving rocky creeks and incredible climbs. It's not that he's
exactly into slippery conditions, but
he knew that a tougher event would
perhaps give him an advantage.
After all, the factory Beta rider is
a former U.S. National MotoTrials
Champion and fast becoming one
of the best extreme off-road racers
in the world. And his trials background became a huge asset when
the normally tough Tennessee
Knockout became even tougher
with a steady rainfall.
"This is definitely my kind of
stuff," Webb said. "It was a tough
event and I think my trials skills
paid off today. It was a great day
and everything went my way."
Indeed it did. The TKO is split up
into several races, a "Hot Lap" to
Briefly...
According to Cody Webb, a
big key to his win was tailoring
his suspension to the extreme
conditions of the race. "Last
year, we basically ran my Endurocross suspension, but we
softened it up a little, although
it ended up still being way too
stiff," said Webb. "This year,
one of my sponsors, Stillwell
Performance, set up a completely new setup that was a
lot softer and it was perfect for
the giant rocks and slippery
creeks."
Cody Webb came in with a tender foot, which he broke just a
few weeks ago and had surgery to repair. The factory Beta
rider didn't let that slow him
down, though. "Even though I
couldn't ride, I still was able to
stay in pretty good shape by
working out in the gym," said
Webb. "I wanted to come out
of the gate strong and make a
statement and I think I did that."
After the race, Cody Webb
talked a little bit about how he
is branching out into extreme
racing. "I'm still a trials rider
at heart, but I would definitely
consider myself one of the top
extreme off-roaders now," said
Webb. "Especially at the more
difficult events. I mean, I'm not
going to go out and excel at
a GNCC, but this is my niche
now. I'm not just a trials guy
any longer, I want to be a trials
guy and an extreme guy and an
Endurocross guy. I want to expand my horizons."
