Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/917325
VOL. 54 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 19, 2017 P207 Kevin Schwantz quickly come to mind)—other times, mmm, not so much. This one kind fell somewhere in between. There were quite a few names (Zach Osborne, Jared Mees, Marc Marquez to name a few) that got tossed around, and there were some good discussions, border- ing on debates among the CN staff as to who should be this year's CN Rider of the Year. But when it came time to commit, we all agreed that Jared Mees was the right person. Whew! That was…well, easy. I didn't want to have to pull rank and glad that I didn't have to. Believe me, when it comes to selecting ROY's in the past, I've been involved in some heated battles in the CN offices that didn't end as cordial- ly as this one. I guess you can say that we're pretty passionate about our racing around here. I still can't believe how fast 2017—or the last 50 issues—has come and gone. They seem to be getting faster every year, which might have something to do with all the great racing and championships happening all around the world these days, and so many really amazing new motorcycles being introduced seemingly every week; it's excit- ing times, for sure, but difficult to keep up with sometimes, especially during the summer months. You don't know how many times that I've said I wish there were more days in the week just to keep up with it all, but I'm glad there aren't. That would mean having to wait one more day for the racing to begin on the weekends. There were a lot of big head- lines this year. Unfortunately, too many of those headlines were not good ones. Just read Larry Lawrence's Archives column elsewhere in this issue and you'll see why—we lost way too many great people in our motorcycling world in such a short period of time. It was sad to see Ryan Dungey hang up his boots in 2017, and Ken Roczen suffer that horrendous and seemingly career-ending crash at Anaheim nearly one year ago, but on the bright side, Dungey did go out with grace and style, and Roc- zen is in the process of making the comeback of all comebacks. Just the fact that he's suiting up again for Anaheim I is already a successful comeback in my mind. (How can you forget all those Instagram posts from Roczen of his splayed open arm after his crash? I know I can't.) It was great seeing him back on the bike again last week and looking, it appears, as fast as ever. Whether or not you're a Ken Roczen fan, how can you not pull for him? And speaking of comebacks, will James Stewart make one next year? But, then again, has he even left? So weird, but I'd like to seem him on the track again, or at the very, least, bow out with some sort of elegance. His fans deserve it, as does the sport. Like him or not, he was/ is a big part of its growth and his departure from racing should be officially recognized. C'mon, James. We're waiting. There was some excellent racing in 2017, especially in Mo- toGP. The championship came down to the final race, as it did in both the National Enduro and Sprint Enduro Championships, NHRA, Pro Motocross and of course, Supercross. I don't know how many supercross races I've been to in my 34 years of service with Cycle News, but I know that the final round in Las Vegas this year will be one of the races I remember most, right up with the Johnson/Bailey battle and Jeremy McGrath getting his first win. 2018 will certainly produce more memorable moments as well, we just don't know who, what, when, where or how it will be yet. But I'm anxious to find out. As for me, after 34 years, this stuff never gets old. That's because it's motorcycles—the greatest sport in the world. Bring it on, 2018. CN