Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 20, 2015 P57 moved up through the pack to finish second to former team- mate Ryan Dungey. In the main, however, when it counted, Roczen got a good start and was among the leaders at the start of the race. "I didn't get the holeshot, but I was up front, which is all I needed," he said. Roczen then made a forceful pass on Andrew Short to take over the lead. "I had to put it in there on Shorty; he's a hard guy to pass," he said. "I didn't really want to get tangled up behind him, so I had to make the move. After that, I just rode smart, but you really needed to have intensity out there because everyone was going fast." Near the midway point of the race, with Roczen holding a safe lead, Dungey began clicking off laps that had the Red Bull KTM rider closing in on Roczen. "I couldn't rest because Dungey got a bit close a couple of times," said Roczen. "He was pushing me near the end, but I felt like if he got close enough I could have bumped it up to another level." Eventually Dungey bobbled near the end of the race, which left Roczen crossing the finish line with an easy margin and a safe and impressive win. "Overall it was good to fight back and win after last weekend. If we have to we're just going to inch away a little at a time, but as long as we're winning we're good," he said. "I went into the race with a lot of confidence. I got a decent start, made a few passes and almost led the whole race." The week before in Phoenix, after Eli Tomac ran down Roc- zen and easily beat the Suzuki rider, Roczen complained that he wasn't "feeling it." Although he didn't say whether he meant he was feeling ill or if he just wasn't at one with the track. After this weekend's race it was clear—he said he was fully prepared for the race. "I worked a lot on my body after Phoenix, just loosening everything up," he said. "I wasn't ill last week, but I wasn't feel- ing that great and my body was tired." For sure, Roczen is getting stronger with each week, and now that he has some mo- mentum, the current outdoor champ is poised to dominate the remainder of the series. "I feel good about next week- end, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing," said Roczen. "I'm working on getting my body better, it's still not 100 percent, but it just feels great to have another win." CN "I FEEL GOOD ABOUT NEXT WEEKEND, I'M JUST GOING TO KEEP DOING WHAT I'M DOING. I'M WORKING ON GETTING MY BODY BETTER, IT'S STILL NOT 100 PERCENT, BUT IT JUST FEELS GREAT TO HAVE ANOTHER WIN." Ken Roczen leaves Anaheim II feeling good about the next round in Oakland.

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