Cycle News

Sean Point. He didn't have a pit pass or know what I looked like. He had been kicked out of the pits three rima. So he was hollering over the fence to me and we made a date for lunch. He sounded like he knew what he o ..... ClO 0) "I think the disap- pointment is that I d,,'dn't win the World Championship in the 1970s. " was talking about. He had some de- grees in sports medicine. He told me what to do for it, and the ankle got better. 1D two weeks it was down to DllI'DIa1 sizr afu;r three months ol prob. lems. We started working out and all of a sudden ~ were a team and the stuff he had me do was definitely help' ingme. I wanted to improve my upper body strength. He worked on my weak points and I'm totally happy with the whole thinIt. I have to really thank Dean a lot {or what he's done with me. Lut Sepcemher you wae tested by the Natimlal Athletic Health IDIcitale with _ other IIIOlDero_ell for a Crde magaziDe article. The raallS of that__10 have juatifiecl the p-. gram, Y_ waD by a wide margin. Dean's~is hard work, but it definitely works. In my riding, it also made a big difference. I slacked off at the end of the season and wasn't doing any training. I wasn't in top shape when I took the test. I think this year with Dean's modifications to the pro- gram I'll be even stronger than last year. We both have a year under our belts. I'm confident that when I arrive in Europe, I'll be in better sha~ than anybody else, and that's what It takes to win GPS. going to take all those chances -a. after week, it's just DOl worth it. Y_ rode one 'tadium race lut year. What', your attitude toward stadium racing? If it's going to be as big a spectator draw as it is, and if it's going to be at dangerous as it is, and those two kind of go hand in hand, then the punes are really low for what the promoten are making. If the winner was making 10 or 12 grand, then I could see risking what you have to risk in front of all those people. But it's just not worth it for what's being paid now. You don't have 45 minutes to settle down, read everything and put on a nice smOOlh charge to the front. You have to go crazy, wide open for 20 lap' and take all the risks you can. A motoeIOMel's career is pretty abort .. it is. If you're Ia thatOllC 01. the keyllD Iw:awjngaD aperiau:ed ftIerUl? LeamiDg 10 ftlUI aJId eval_le riB takiDr. Well, let's put it this way. I coald name l!O other rider. who started at the begiDning of the decade like me and Weinert, but there', only two left. the Air Shox sold as well as they did and woOed as well as they did. They're aerioua about making good stuff. Their IeCOnd thought is making money. The fint thought is to make it better than anybody ellie's. Now with their new forb and sbocb they're going to be on top of the suspension market again, just like they were with their Air Shox, I'm sure. Y_ baaic:aUy doD't ride dariDg the • 22 ridethe week, pI~10 tniD aJId theD • That's my thing, and I really don't try to push it. I've been riding for 10 yean, and it works for me. I keep wanting to say that to younger guys, and I catch myself thinking that they haven't been racing for 10 yean, and they may still need to learn how to ride some more. How did you get hooled up with DeaD Miller for your traiDiDg p-. gram lut year? At the last race of the '78 season 1 crashed at Lwtembourg and I W1'KIted one of my ankles. There were a bunch of bone chip' and tom ligaments. h wouldn't get any better. I had to pull out of the Trans·Am. I went to several clinics. They said there was nothing they could do. I put the word out that I W8I looking for somebody who knew how to tape ankles. Dean beard about it. He didn't know anything about me or motoe:reB. He works with the hi h IChool kids and Pop Warner fOOl~ He came out to That imo1vel unluclr.y brew, not ~limitations and 10Iing desire, but sizing up risks is an important fac· tor. If you're looking for a long career you CaD't go out and rack yourself up every week. You lose the desire if you get Inan too much. You have to take chances when the risks are at least SO-SO, but not 50-70, unless you plan on raeiDg for two yean, make it or break it. ThiI year, the achedale ilI71tac1iam raca and 21 _tdoor eftIllS. Do J'OU lee thiI trend toward 1aI _tdoor raeillg coatiDaiDg? h lUre looks that way. I just think the only reason tM AMA is still around is because of mot~. h', paying the bills and keeping them alive, and. they

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