Cycle News

INTERVIEW FIM SUPERENDURO WORLD CHAMPION, AMA ENDUROCROSS CHAMPION COLTON P122 built a track and started putting in serious time." It all paid off in 2016, as Haaker headed into the AMA EnduroCross Series with the confidence of a world champion- ship, and the consistency to take points away from Webb by win- ning heat races and main event Hot Laps (both of which award additional championship points at each round). It was those pesky points that cost Haaker in 2015, where he had as many wins as Webb, but was behind in the championship heading into the finale. The tables were turned, and it was Haaker who would not be denied. He came into the final round at Ontario only needing a seventh-place finish in the main event to take the title. Despite Webb's best effort, Haaker sailed to a second-place finish, and his first AMA EnduroCross Championship. Both abroad and at home, Webb and Haaker have left no doubt they are in a league of their own. Among the world's best endurocross and superen- duro racers, they have lapped nearly the entire field at times, showcasing how far they have pushed each other. "A lot of people don't know our history," Haaker said of his archrival, Webb. "We rode together in high school and were riding buddies, riding trials when we were 15 to around 17. By the time I was 19 I moved out and moved to Southern California. From that point we weren't riding together every day anymore, but we became ultra-competitive at the premier level of the sport. "Between the [FIM Super- Enduro] World Championship, we were battling in Europe and battling here. We're ultra com- petitive but at the end of the day, we're still going to probably have a drink together no matter who wins or how it goes down, we're still going to shake hands at the end. We ultimately just push each other to be faster and bet- ter and stronger." Due to a change in KTM/ Husqvarna's racing programs, the Austrian brands will no lon- ger be sending riders overseas to compete in the FIM Super- Enduro Series. As the reigning champion, Haaker will be return- ing, but his key rival will not. "My direct competition won't be there, but there's still a lot of really good riders in Europe and I can't take anything for granted, whatsoever," Haaker said. "I'm in a whole new position, too, going into it with the target on my back. I'm doing the same amount of training that I was before endurocross even though I'm already pretty much up to speed. I just don't want to come into this season giving anything up. I definitely can't take it for granted and if I have any kind of slip-up or anything, I'm sure anyone would be happy to take my place as number one. "I just want to treat it like I did last year going in as a rookie. I

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