Cycle News

VOL. 51 ISSUE 9 MARCH 4, 2014 P91 sure, hitting my marks and main- taining my line, that's been my biggest improvement from ama- teurs," said Cianciarulo. "I think there are areas I have improved that most people don't notice. I think I make up time where a lot of people don't put a lot of thought into it, and I think maybe it's in my intensity." Starts are another area where Cianciarulo says he's improved. "Before my race in Dallas, my starts weren't that great, so we were doing a lot of practice on my starts before that race," said Cianciarulo. "We did a lot of slow motion video of my practice starts, taking them back to [team manager] Mitch Payton and look- having to race with people helped me out a lot for Supercross." So far, Cianciarulo's biggest challengers in the title chase have been his two teammates, Blake Baggett and Martin Davalos, al- though GEICO Honda's Justin Bogle did manage a podium fin- ish in Atlanta. "I think having great team- mates is a big help" says Cian- ciarulo. "We push each other hard in practice, although on the racetrack, they are just another rider, but in practice we're help- ing each other and pushing each other." When he's not in California, practicing on the Kawasaki test track with his teammates, then he's at home in Florida, training with Aldon Baker and with his "adopted" teammates, Ken Roc- zen and Ryan Villopoto. "Training with Ken and RV is cool," said Cianciarulo. "Obvi- ously they are both accomplished athletes and to get a chance to see what they do and how they train is a big advantage, being there with them every day." Riding with RV and Ken has helped him adapt faster as a pro, Cianciarulo says. "Honestly, I think just learn- ing to race around other people, being calm and cool under pres- life racing outdoors as an ama- teur, Cianciarulo says he feels more at home racing Super- cross, which was quite evident in Arlington. "I like outdoors, obviously that's what I grew up riding, but I'm better at Supercross," said Cianciarulo. "I feel like my style is best suited to Supercross, the whole technical side of it. I feel like Supercross comes a little easier for me, being able to fig- ure the track out really fast. I feel that Supercross is easier, but feel I have potential in both, so I just have to live up to that potential." Although his transition from amateur to pros looked fairly seamless, Cianciarulo says there was definitely a big adjustment for him. "I think how quick everything happens is the biggest differ- ence between the amateurs and the pros," said Cianciarulo. "In amateurs, you race for a week and then you don't race for a few months. In the pros, you race every week and you have to get refocused, and every weekend is pretty much the biggest race of your life. So you have to refocus whether you had a bad race or a good race and that's hard to do. "I learned how to race better, riding the outdoor series," Cian- ciarulo says. "Obviously, racing as an amateur, I was fortunate enough that a lot of the time I was able to pull a big lead and not have to race with anyone. So last year in the outdoor series, kind of being in the back of the pack and " IN THE PROS…EVERY WEEKEND IS PRETTY MUCH THE BIGGEST RACE OF YOUR LIFE. " ing at them, and we were able to get them figured out and obvi- ously that showed in Dallas." It doesn't hurt either that he's still somewhat smaller in stature compared to some of his rivals, but he's growing fast. At five foot eight inches, the 17 year old is listed at just 135 pounds. That's about 25 pounds less weight that his Kawasaki has to haul down the start chute than Davalos' Kawasaki. Lightweight or not, expect to see the number-46 Ka- wasaki at the front of the pack for the remainder of the 2014 racing season. CN

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