Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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SUPERCROSS ROUND 1 / JANUARY 6, 2018 ANGEL STADIUM OF ANAHEIM / ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA P62 MONSTER ENERGY AMA SUPERCROSS SERIES eating some heavy roost. But he persisted and worked his way up through the pack over the course of 20 minutes plus one lap. Once he found himself in fourth, he started gaining on Justin Barcia in third, only to back it down in the last few laps and bring it home in a very solid fourth place. ROCZEN: "I SHOULD BE HAPPY" The accomplishment that Roc- zen's A-I performance represents cannot be overstated. After his fall at A-II last year, his left arm was se- verely mangled, but while many fig- ured it might have meant the end of his promising career, he never wavered. "I should be happy, for sure," Roczen said. "I just got a bad start. I got shuffled around in the back there a little bit and definitely found my groove. But I'm a racer and I belong up there. I be- long in the top three and winning, too. I always want to do better, but man, I have to be happy. Just have to work on a couple of things, for sure. Overall I felt pretty good in the moto. Got the jitters out of the way, first one out of the way. Had a close call there. I kind of caught my foot or something. That could have ended bad, but I'm glad I saved that one then just stayed on two wheels." ROCZEN'S ROAD TO RECOVERY During Saturday's race, Fox Sports 1 aired a feature covering Roczen's return to racing after his horrific crash at Anaheim II nearly a year ago. With behind-the-scenes foot- age from the hospital and a candid interview with the German, fans got an inside look at his journey back to supercross racing. BLEED FOR THIS Ken Roczen's butt patch read: "Bleed For This." Roczen ex- plained that it was inspired by the movie of the same name, about fighter Vinny Pazienza, who broke his neck. "Everyone said he could never fight again, but he pulled it off and basically came back to be the best," Roczen said. "I just felt like it fit perfectly for my situation because so many people doubted me. I actually met the real guy who the movie is based on at a NASCAR race prior to the 2017 season, which is pretty cool." REED UPBEAT Chad Reed came off the couch, almost literally, to go into the 450SX main on a brand-new motorcycle and finish 15th. Late last year, he injured his ankle/ foot pretty badly. The doctors told him he'd have to stay off of it for 12 weeks. That was 10 weeks prior to Anaheim I. Before to the race, according to the hour meter on his new Husqvarna FC 450, Reed had about 90 minutes on the brand-new motorcycle. While his ankle is still bothering him, and he was even sporting some unchar- Briefly... nerves this year than I did last year." Following him home for the second year in a row was Ya- maha's Aaron Plessinger, and he had to deal with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Adam Cianciarulo (who eventu- ally finished third) all night. The defending champ (who won the title as a teammate to Cianciarulo last year, but who now races for the JGR Suzuki squad) Justin Hill struggled in the main event to finish seventh. "I gripped the bike like an ape, and you can't do that," Hill said. "Don't worry. I'll be back up there." CN 450SX 1. Marvin Musquin (KTM) 2. Jason Anderson (Hus) 3. Justin Barcia (Yam) 4. Ken Roczen (Hon) 5. Weston Peick (Suz) 6. Cole Seely (Hon) 7. Justin Brayton (Hon) 8. Broc Tickle (KTM) 9. Josh Grant (Kaw) 10. Cooper Webb (Yam) 250SX WEST 1. Shane McElrath (KTM) 2. Aaron Plessinger (Yam) 3. Adam Cianciarulo (Kaw) 4. Joey Savatgy (Kaw) 5. Christian Craig (Hon) 6. Mitchell Oldenburg (Yam) 7. Justin Hill (Suz) 8. Chase Sexton (Hon) 9. Justin Cooper (Yam) 10. Kyle Chisholm (Yam)