Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 10 MARCH 10, 2015 P147 Vuillemin or any of the many riders that made the trek over to our shores. As difficult as their moves were, I have to think that it is even harder going the other direction. There are language barriers and the tracks change significantly from country to country. It is my understanding that Ryan is riding for a French- based team and that cannot be conducive to helping in the com- munication department, which is bound to hinder bike set-up. Do not assume that just because he rode a Kawasaki here in the states that his bike will be the same, because there are dif- ferent rules that alter the bikes. I'm pretty sure he is riding a true works bike, also, not the produc- tion-based motorcycle that he is used to. He also has to deal with the different type of tracks over there, although RV has always been a quick study and should have no trouble adapting. Other factors to consider are that he is coming back from a surgery-induced layoff, which is never easy. Very few riders at the elite level that RV has to per- form at are able to come back from long layoffs and get back to where they were, or faster. It just does not happen. Villopoto has already done so a couple of times and it did not look like he had too much fun during the process. Something he had go- ing for him was Aldon Baker as his trainer. I'm unsure of who RV is working with over there, but I don't think it is Baker, unless they are Skyping it. The thing that will affect Ryan's performance the most is how he deals with the massive pressure that is on his shoul- ders. It will either weigh him down and negatively affect his results, or he will feed off of it and let it empower him in a posi- tive way. He definitely has to be feeling it, because it is coming from every direction. There is the pressure of winning for his long- time sponsor, Kawasaki, that has never won an MXGP title. There is pressure from the series title sponsor, Monster Energy, who would love to see one of its riders wrestle the crown that bears their name away from the Red Bull-sponsored Cairolli. It's a safe bet that the championship bonus would add at least an- other million to the four that RV is already getting. Then there is the aforemen- tioned pressure and high expec- tations of the American public. Ryan is not oblivious to the fact that he is expected to win by the majority of his American fans and that is a hell of a lot of weight on one man's shoulders, which may have played a part in his off day last weekend. However, that was a week ago. The man seems to have redeemed himself this past weekend. As most of you probably are aware, our one man wrecking crew, the pride of America, Ryan Villopoto laid waste to those fuzzy foreigners at round two of the series, taking the overall win in Thailand with 1-3 moto finish- es. He now sits in fourth place in series points, with 15 more countries to visit before conclud- ing his swan song (working) world vacation. Brad Lackey spent 10 years chasing his dream of becom- ing World Champion and it took all of them to achieve his goal. When he went over there in 1972, expectations were low, for good reason—no American had ever beaten the Euros in a single event, much less a series. The biggest pressure Brad felt was the pressure he put on himself. Winning that World Champion- ship had to be the highest of highs, because Brad won it for himself. Ryan Villopoto has won all there is to win in America and has said that this will be his only attempt at winning a World Championship. Unlike Lackey's trip, expectations are high, for good reason. Like Brad, the biggest pressure on Ryan is the pressure he puts on himself, and I think that is just the way he likes it. Here's hoping that he pulls it off and leaves a legacy that will be tough to match. Whatever the outcome, fans on both sides of the pond are the real winners. CN

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