Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 9 MARCH 4, 2014 P77 make it easier." Roczen is training alongside Villopoto, and as of Atlanta, the two are separated by nine points at the front of the championship. You'd think that would get a bit uncomfortable back home in Florida, training with his closest rival. "No, not at all, to be honest," Roczen said. "We both put in a lot of work and I just think if I win, he's not happy, but I wouldn't say it pisses him off, because we're both putting in a lot of work and at least it's equal. There are other people out there that he thinks shouldn't win, so I think he's less bummed when I win than when somebody else wins." over the years. Remember when Josh Grant won A1? Roczen actually had a couple guys who were faster than him at A1, with Ryan Villopoto grabbing the early lead, then falling, and then James Stewart going down when he was trying to get around Roczen. In some ways, it seemed as if Roczen just kept it together, but he wasn't really the runaway winner or anything like that. Then, six more races went by without Roczen winning another one. In those six races, Villopoto won two, Stewart won two, and Reed won two. Roczen never doubted him- self, though, and at Atlanta, he capitalized on a mistake from Vil- I had a good battle with Chad at Anaheim 2. All the Anaheims were good. So, I wouldn't say I expected myself to win again, but I was hoping for it, and I knew I could. It was just a matter of time, feeling comfortable, confident and stuff like that. I believed in myself 100-percent that I could do it again. I'm telling you already that it's not going to be the last time." >>2015 There's no doubt that Ken Roc- zen is the hottest commodity in professional motocross for 2015. The Ryans both have contracts through 2015, and Roczen is giv- ing both of the Ryans all they can handle anyway. And he's 19. "The thing right now is, I don't want to get too caught up on that stuff," Roczen said. "Like, I just want to do my thing. It's really ex- citing, but I just really want to fo- cus. I feel like I'm in a really good position now, so I try not to worry about anything. I'll keep doing my thing. I don't really care who's talking to me or stuff like that. That's my plan. I don't want to worry about anything about next year and stuff." Chances are that he won't sign anything until at least the con- clusion of the 2014 AMA Super- cross Series, though, because if he wins the championship, that probably means a bigger con- tract. One thing's for sure, though: Ken Roczen is going to be a force for a very long time. CN " I WASN'T THAT HAPPY, IT WAS VERY HARD FOR ME TO PUT IN MOTOS AND KEEP MYSELF FIT. " In other words, if Villopoto is go- ing to lose a race, he'd prefer to lose it to someone who he thinks deserves to win. Someone who he believes puts in the same kind of work that he does. That's Ken Roczen. "Exactly," Roczen said. "So, if it's not him, I think he wants me to win. Not like someone like [James] Stewart, for example." >>GOALS REALIZED Sometimes, immediate success can be a bit of a curse. A lot of weird stuff happens at Anaheim 1 lopoto and took the lead with a few laps to go on his way to his second win of the season. "I wasn't doubting myself at all this year," Roczen said. "Like, I just had a couple of races where I wasn't the best and didn't feel the most comfortable. For exam- ple, last week [in Atlanta] it was a little hard because I would say I was a little bit under the weath- er. I knew I could be up there, because it's not like I just won one race and never got on the podium again. I kept on getting on the podium and getting close.

• Cover